A New Lease on Life
by brown eyed girl67
Summary: Bella and Edward both knew they were taking a risk that day in the meadow. What if Edward had succumbed to his blood lust and bit Bella? What if he bit her, but did not kill her? How would she react to this new way of life?
1. Chapter 1

**Sadly, I don't own Twilight or any of it's characters.**

**Chapter 1**

"_So quickly that I missed his movement, he was half sitting, propped up on his right arm, his left palm still in my hands. His angel's face was only a few inches from mine. I might have – should have – flinched away from his unexpected closeness, but I was unable to move._

_"'What are you afraid of, then?' he whispered intently._

_But I couldn't answer. As I had just that once before, I smelt his cool breath in my face. Sweet, delicious, the scent made my mouth water. It was unlike anything else. Instinctively, unthinkingly, I leaned closer, inhaling_." (Twilight, pages 262-263)

**EPOV**

As she leaned forward, I forgot that I was not supposed to be breathing. The flames shot up in the back of my throat, to an unparalleled pitch. She was so close; close enough to inhale the scent coming off of her throat. I could feel the heat radiating off of her skin as I drew my face ever closer to her exposed neck. It was simply too much. I thought I could handle it, how wrong I had been.

The monster inside of me roared triumphantly as her eyes finally registered the fear that I had been expecting to see from her all week. However, in an instant that fear was gone and in its place was a type of sadness and resignation. No, I didn't have to do this. After over a hundred years alone, I had finally found somebody that I loved with my whole being. I tried to move my head back, only to find that I physically could not.

The monster would not let me back out now, not when the most glorious meal imaginable sat only inches away, unable to defend itself. Moments passed with both Bella and I frozen, waiting for the other to act.

Up to this point she had been holding her breath, yet she was a human, so the inevitable action came. This simple movement sent another potent blast of her scent directly into my face. There was not question now, I was the predator and she was the prey, the way nature intended.

Briefly, I noticed the low hum of others thoughts picking up in volume, as if they were moving toward us, but I was too wrapped up in what I was about to do to focus on them.

At that point, instinct took over as I plunged my razor sharp teeth into the soft membrane of her neck. In that moment I was experiencing heaven, right in the middle of hell.

**APOV**

All of the family knew that Edward was taking Bella out for the day. We were all happy that he had found someone after so many years. And to top it off I would be getting a sister and a friend.

It was for these reasons that Emmett, Jasper, and I were standing in the shadows of the forest, just out of Edward's range of extra hearing.

"Why are we here again," Emmett grumbled, "I thought you saw Edward getting through today without killing her."

"I did," I snapped back, "but you know he could make a spilt second decision to kill her, which will change everything. And trust me, I've seen how he would react to her death. You would much rather give up a day of wrestling, then deal with that situation." I did not like being reminded of the holes in my visions.

Emmett had been planning on fighting with Jasper today, which is the way the two of them usually spent sunny days. Unless I took Jasper shopping, of course. Nothing was funnier than informing Emmett that I would be taking away his sparring partner so Jasper could spend the day assisting me add to the families wardrobe. I was surprised he was acting this way today though. After all, this was a life or death situation of a future family member. Even though I had only briefly met her, I already thought of Bella as a sister.

I did not even know why I had gone to this extreme. However, even though I saw nothing in the future, I had a bad feeling. Rosalie had scoffed when I had first proposed this arrangement, saying that it was pointless. After all, to Rosalie, Bella's death would be a relief.

Carlisle and Esme had both agreed on this extra precaution. It was actually Carlisle who had convinced Emmett to come. I don't believe he would have otherwise, for fear of upsetting Rose. I was glad he had, because if it came to that, I had a feeling that we would require his brute strength.

Suddenly, the two vampires beside me and the surrounding forest disappeared. I was in a meadow and laying in the center were Edward and Bella. As she leaned in, I watched in horror as the animal came alive in my brother's eyes. About a minute later he plunged his teeth in her neck. The scene faded and I found myself in Jaspers arms and Emmett's worried glance on me.

Without a word, I took off into the forest, running in the direction of the meadow. I knew that Emmett and Jasper would know to follow. I pushed my short legs to their maximum speed, however I knew that it was useless. Bella's humanity was impossible to save at this point, however we still had a chance to save her life. The image of the vision I had weeks ago flashed through my mind. Her cold, stone arms were wrapped around me and her eyes were bright scarlet.

Then I remembered the vision of her spread across the ground, lifeless. I had told Edward from the beginning that there was no other way, that it was either one of the other. Some things about the future were unchangeable. Of course, he had refused to listen.

As the light of the clearing became visible, I could smell her blood breaking through the flesh. I shot a glance at Jasper, to make sure he was still in control. He had ceased to breathe and seemed to be doing remarkably well. I quickly scanned the future and saw no sign of him losing control.

We broke through the clearing to find Edward's form hunched over an ever-weakening Bella. Emmett charged into him and Jasper flew to help. Edward let out a wild roar as he looked up a second before the attack. The sound of boulders colliding echoed through the trees and I prayed that there were no humans in the forest today. Edward tried to evade his attackers and almost got around Emmett, before Jasper pinned him from behind. Edward's ability might give him an advantage, but even he could not take on both Emmett's supreme strength and Jaspers strategy at the same time. Even when Emmett sat on his chest and Jasper held his legs down, he continued to fight in an attempt to resume his meal. I felt bad for Edward, for I knew how terribly the guilt would tear at him for all of his actions today in a few minutes time.

As soon as he was far enough away from Bella, I scooped her up into my arms and headed for our house. About half way there she began to scream and thrash as the venom worked its way through her system. I tightened my hold on the struggling human in my arms and pushed for extra speed. Everything depended on getting Bella to Carlisle in time to stanch the blood, which was still flowing freely from her throat. Edward had taken so much out of her and if she had a chance for the venom to complete its purpose, she needed to get to Carlisle.

"Its all right," I mumble frantically, knowing I was lying through my teeth. It would not be all right; at best she would experience sheer agony for three days and many unknown trials after she woke up. At worst, well I did not want to consider that option. "It's going to be all right."

"Edward," she moaned into my shoulder before her screaming commenced.

"Hold on, Bella," I whispered to myself more than her, "please, you have to hold on."

**Please, don't forget to review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. I really appreciate knowing what you all think, so please do not forget to review!**

**Chapter 2**

**APOV**

Within minutes, the large white house could be seen through the trees. As I raced through the front door, I caught a glimpse of Rosalie's irate glare. I had no time to address this however for Bella's blood had already soaked the front of my shirt, with more coming every second.

I had intended to take her to Carlisle's office, however his scent was coming from Edward's room. Carlisle had apparently smelt the blood as I had come in, because he had set up the necessary equipment by the time I laid her on the black, leather couch.

"How long since she was bitten," Carlisle asked, as he applied pressure to the wound on her throat.

"No more than five minutes ago," I whispered, knowing he would hear.

"I need you to take over for me, while I inject more venom in her," Carlisle commanded in his most authoritative voice, "she has lost too much blood. She will only stand a chance if I add more venom."

I stepped forward hesitantly.

Then he added in a worried tone, "Are you still in control?"

It had been difficult to carry her back to the house with her bleeding so profusely. However, if I could handle that, then I was sure that this would not be a problem. I was immensely thankful that I had feed just last night.

"I will be fine," I said taking Carlisle's place at Bella's neck. I kept my thoughts on my visions of my future sister to keep my mind off of the temptation of her blood pulsing beneath my finger tips.

Carlisle was moving quickly, biting her wrists, ankles, and the crevices of her elbows. When he was finished he drew back with a worried look in his eyes.

"I think she will be alright, but I can not be sure. It largely depends on how her body accepts the venom at this point. The best we can do is wait," said Carlisle with a sigh.

I scanned the future, trying to determine what would happen. Foggy shapes and murky shadows were all that presented them selves, as nothing was set in stone.

Being a vampire and having the ability to see the future defiantly excluded patience from my list of virtues. Luckily for me, I did know that I would only have a few more minutes to wait for the future to be resolved. For those few moments would determine everything.

**BPOV**

This was completely my fault. I had tempted fate and pushed Edward to his limit, all because I was too selfish to let him go. He had repeatedly told me to leave him alone and I had ignored him. Now I was reaping the rewards of my actions.

I had seen the moment he lost his perfect control, as if something had come alive in the back of his beautiful topaz eyes. My death was imminent, so I steeled my self for the ultimate blow. I knew it was useless to fight back.

After his teeth broke my skin the blood began to flow freely, its smell making me nauseous. The sharp pain that seemed to be radiating from the spot of the wound seemed to be spreading slowly. I felt my conscious slipping away along with the blood in my body.

Suddenly, I felt Edward remove his teeth and turn away. I heard a deafening noise, as somebody with rock hard arms picked me up from the ground. I did not understand why the pain in my neck was still growing when the source of the impalement had been removed.

Maybe I had died, however the pain surprised me. For other than my selfish actions today, I did not think that I had ever done anything terrible enough to warrant going to Hell. Surely, only in Hell could this type of pain exist.

It also did not make sense that an angel, who looked remarkably like Edward's sister, was carrying me as we flew through the forest.

Vaguely, I heard her say, "it's alright. It's going to be alright."

The pain was making it impossible to think. I briefly registered being set on something soft, before another wave of pain shot down from my neck. Another angel with golden hair began to speak to the black hair girl, as the pain engulfed the upper half of my body. The angels seemed unsure of how to proceed. I silently hoped that they would show mercy and take the pain away. Apparently it was decided that I would have to endure it, because I felt new points of pain being inflicted along various points on my body.

At this point it felt as if I was being burned alive at the stake. Couldn't someone see that I was on fire? I begged the angels to put out the fire or if they could not, to at least kill me. After all, anything would be better than this. My entire body convulsed and vaguely I heard someone screaming. It took me several minutes to that realize the noise was coming from me.

The girls voice broke through the pain, "Don't give up Bella. You have to fight this."

On the edges of my brain there was a darkness that sweetly promised to erase the pain and give me the release I so desperately desired, however stupidly I fought it back. I trusted the angel who saved my life.

Eventually the opposing blackness cleared, taking with it its escape from the fire. However, the disappearance of the darkness came a new type of clarity that refused to allow me a moment of unconscious. The only thing that existed in the world was the pain and the hope that someday it would cease. Sometimes, I would indistinctly register cool, soothing hands on my arm, as if checking my pulse. But even this small comfort would eventually vanish, leaving me alone to burn.

**EPOV**

There was no denying the fact now - I was a monster. How stupid I had been to think of myself as Bella's guardian. I had comforted myself for saving her from certain death over the past few weeks as an excuse to stay with her, only to condemn her. Why had I not listened to Alice?

I knew the answer to that - I had been cocky. I had thought that I could change the future by simple will power. I had done a terrible thing by testing my resolve and gambling with the highest stakes imaginable, Bella's life. I should have left when I had the chance.

Emmett and Jasper stood a few feet away, watching me in my despair. Jasper was attempting to calm me, however my desolation was far too great for his gift to have any effect.

They had not let me up until they were sure that Alice had taken Bella far enough away for me not to be a threat to them. In my animalistic state I had been willing to attack my brothers and sister in order to finish off the one I loved. I could not think of a more perfect definition of a monster.

"Is she going to live," I choked out. Ha, as if what we were could be called living. I was not sure what I was more afraid to hear, that she was going to a place where I could not follow her or that she would be forever damned to this world.

"We don't know," Emmett said, his voice sounding serious for once, "Alice is taking her to Carlisle. He's her best chance now."

I nodded into my hands. I could not bear to look up and see the understanding and pity in their eyes. I did not deserve any measure of comfort.

"Edward, this was not your fault," Jasper whispered, " you pushed yourself to far. No one has perfect control."

The thoughts that had been buzzing in my head finally burst out, "but I knew. I knew how her blood affected me and could not stay away. And what's worse? I took her out, by her self, in the middle of a forest, like leading an animal to the slaughter. It's absolutely disgusting."

They were both silent as I finished my rant, not knowing what to say.

"We need to get back to the house to check on her," Jasper thought, "it should be resolved now, one way or the other."

I nodded. It was time to face the results of my actions.

"Are you going to be okay," Emmett asked as I got up, "there will probably be a lot of blood."

"If I look like I'm going to lose control again, do everything in your power to hold me back," I whispered as I turned to run back to the house.

I let Jasper and Emmett pull ahead of me, as I did not want to be the first to enter the house. What if I attacked her again? I could not even consider the possibility.

Esme was waiting for us at the door, with a smile spread across her face. I did not understand the source of her happiness until I heard her thoughts. She was ecstatic that Bella was going to pull through and that she would be gaining another daughter. There was no sign of anger toward me in her thoughts. I could not understand how everyone could forgive so easily, as if they had all been expecting this to happen. But, then again they probably were. It seems I was the only one that had been foolish enough to believe that I could resist.

I did not know how I felt about the news that Bella would soon be one of us. Half of me had almost hoped that she would find the peace that comes with death and that she would go to a place were angels like her belonged, forever safe from demons like me. The greater part of me, however, was elated that there never would be a time when Bella would be removed from my world. Even if she never forgave me, she would always be alive. Maybe that would be enough. I felt an overwhelming urge to be next to her as I heard her now steady heart beat coming from my room.

As I mounted the stairs, I tuned out Rosalie's mental tirade. The most important thing in the world right now was to make sure that Bella was okay. Maybe, after I ensured that she was all right, I could go up to Alaska for a few years to give Bella time to forgive me. What was I thinking, she would never be able to look at me, let alone forgive me. I would have the coming days to consider my next course of action, but for now I just needed to see the angel that I had cruelly stolen from heaven.

However, my plans were encumbered by an irate pixie that was standing just outside my door.

"You are by no means leaving this house, Edward Cullen," she snarled at me.

**Please, don't forget to review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Unfortunately, I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Don't forget to review.**

**Chapter 3**

**EPOV**

"What," I questioned Alice, before shaking my head. I did not have time for this, for at the moment my entire being felt as if it was being pulled to Bella's side.

"Why am I having visions of you leaving the family and hiding out in Alaska," Alice asked, her face contorted in a mask of rage.

"What else can I do, Alice? She is going to hate me, as she should. If I stayed I would only be making her and the rest of the family uncomfortable," I finished. However, my rationalizations did nothing for Alice's mood.

"You assume too much. How do you know that Bella will hate you when she awakes." Alice questioned in a slightly softer voice.

"Have you seen something," I asked, hopefully.

"No," she responded, "but that is only because you are so set on leaving, therefore I cannot see how she will react to your presence if you stay. However, I can see her being extremely hurt if she wakes up and you are not here."

"You're not going to change my mind, Alice," I replied solemnly, "no one deserves to live in the same house as their killer."

"And you're being a masochistic idiot. Okay, you bit her. I told you from the beginning that that was one of her two possible futures. Now its happened and you cannot change the past, regardless of how much you wallow. At the moment all you can do is take responsibility for your actions. And that responsibility does not include putting a country between you and Bella. Besides, I though you were in love with her," Alice ranted. I believe if it were possible, her face would have been brick red.

I sighed before answering, "I love her more than the world and everything in it, but I have ruined my chance. How could she ever look at me, let alone feel any kind of affection toward me, after what I have done to her?"

"Again, you are always so quick to suppose the worst possible situation imaginable. Why don't you let Bella be the judge of who she does or does not love," Alice's words wavered my resolution slightly.

Alice froze and from her mind issued the dark shadows and haunting echoes of an unresolved future. Somewhere in this alternate time, Bella's voice whispered, "Edward, I love you." Alice smiled at me smugly; I however was not convinced.

"That could happen a hundred years from now or not at all," I exhaled. The thought of those words coming from Bella's mouth was an intoxicating thought. "You, of all people should know the future is subject to change."

"The surest way to ensure that it never would occur would be to leave," Alice said, softly.

"Fine," I snapped in defeat, "I'll stay. But if there is ever a sign that she does not want me here, there will be no arguments out of you when I go."

"Sounds good to me," Alice practically sang. Disregarding my black mood, Alice skipped down the hall to inform the rest of the family that I was staying. She had, after all, won the debate; but maybe she had known that she would all along.

I rolled my eyes before entering my room. There she was, spread out on the couch with her hair spilling down the side. Sweat was pouring from her twitching form, her body getting rid of the fluids she would no longer need. Already small changes that were created by the venom could be seen. Her humanity was slowing slipping away before my very eyes.

"Oh, Bella," I sobbed, sinking to a chair beside her. I took her small hand in mine, as a drowning man holds onto a board at sea. As I sat there, staring at her ever-hardening form, I thought of the ramifications of what I had done. So much would change when she opened her eyes to view her new world. Despite all of Alice's words, I highly doubted that this wonderful person would ever be able to forgive me for what I had done to her. The hours crept by at a unimaginably slow pace and I sank deeper and deeper into my pit of despair from which I would not surface for another three days.

**BPOV**

The world was in a flame that was the only explanation. The only question was why I had not perished yet. Time soon lost all meaning and began to pass in a haze of endless red. Eons could have past; however the only thing I knew was that I was being slowly burned alive.

This is why it came as a surprise when I felt the tiniest measure of release begin at my extremities and gradually work its way up to my core. This process seemed to take ages, but there was no denying the fact that the pain was lessening. I could feel a smooth, cool hand, that was progressively becoming closer and closer to my own temperature, grasping tightly onto my own. Amazed at the fact that I was not a pile of ashes, I twitched my toes to find that I still had the aptitude to move, along with the sensation of touch.

The fire slowly died in my limbs, however, this seemed to give new life to the blaze in the center of my chest, as it picked up to an astounding pitch. Vaguely, I heard someone yell, "It's almost time, hurry." This flare seemed to be doing battle with my heart and it appeared that neither was winning. In a last gallant effort, my heart felt like it was trying to make its way out of my chest in order to protect itself. The attempt was in vain however, as I heard my heart wheeze its last beat and the pain suddenly cease. Ah, it was finally over and death had mercifully claimed me.

Or had it? Familiar sounds of birds and other wildlife in the distant forest meant my ears. Far away, cars hummed down an unseen highway and closer to me, whispers issued from bell-like voices. All these worldly sounds were much sharper than I remembered.

"Is it over," asked a velvet voice that I was sure I had heard before.

"She should be opening her eyes any second," said another familiar voice that I could not place. My mind seemed to be going a million miles a minute, making a coherent thought process nearly impossible.

One thing that the unidentified voice had said however intrigued me, which was the mention of my ability to open my eyes. The fact that I still had eyelids to open shocked me, so I decided to put this theory to the test. What I saw astounded me. Colors and textures were visible as they never had been before; it was all so disorienting. Whipping my head around, I saw seven angels staring at me. But wait, five of those angels I had seen before. Then foggy memories came back as if they had happened years ago.

Five inhumanly beautiful people sat across the lunchroom, eating nothing at all, while I gawked shamelessly. A boy with pitch black eyes stared at me in biology class with murder in his eyes. The same boy sat in a dark car with me pinching the bridge of his nose whispering, "_Sometimes I have a problem with my temper, Bella_." The scene changed and he was leading me through the forest promising, "_I'll take you home_." We were then in a beautiful meadow and he was leaning toward me, his eyes the exact same color as that day in biology. A sharp pain slashed my neck and then there was the fire.

The seven… vampires, my mind interjected, stared at me warily. I moved to get up, finding that I completed the intended action with much more speed and grace than was humanly possible. Instinctively, I moved to the corner of the room and crouched in a defensive position. "What happened," I choked out, my own voice sounding foreign to me.

The black haired pixie was the first to respond, "what do you remember?"

"So many strange things, but the memories do not make sense. Everything is so foggy," I sighed, willing myself to understand why I was here. "I know that you are all are... well," it seemed rude to utter the actual word, but they all seemed to understand the label I could not say, "and that I was in the forest, but after that…"

A blonde haired man spoke up, "you were in the forest with my son, Edward." He motioned to a boy, whose face I could not see, due to the fact that it was buried in his hands. "I'm sorry Bella, but he lost control."

Then I remembered Edward was the name of the bronze haired boy who refused to face me. I recalled my obsession with him and the gamble I had taken. "But I'm not dead," I mused, relaxing my position slightly. He had implied that him losing control would result in my death, but here I was. Nothing seemed to fit in the category of 'rational' anymore.

"Well, you are and you are not," the blonde haired man interjected. "You see, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper were able to get to you before Edward could, umm, finish. You are one of us now." As he said this he gestured to each of the vampires he was referring to in turn.

My mouth dropped in shock. No, it couldn't be, this had to be some type of elaborate joke that the town had set up to mess with the new girl's head. However, none of the faces around me held any humor.

So many questions flew through my mind, so I decided on the most obvious one.

"Where is Charlie," I asked tentatively.

"At work, I believe," said the pixie, the blonde had called Alice.

"I need to see him," I stated. I needed to see something or someone that could keep me grounded in this world that had suddenly turned upside down. I could think of no one who fit this role better that my father.

"I'm sorry, Bella," said the boy named Jasper in a calming voice, "but that can not happen. He must believe that you are dead now. No one from your past life can know about us and, trust me, they will if you suddenly reappear from a three day absence. The whole town has been involved in a man-hunt over the past couple of days. At this point they have surmised that you were killed by some type of animal, as they found your blood in the meadow and scrapes your of clothing on the trees throughout the forest, which I believe were snagged on the branches while Alice was carrying you here. You have also changed far too much and on top of all of that you will be too blood thirsty to be around humans for a while."

"Speaking of that," Alice piped, "we will be leaving town soon, but we could not move you while you were changing. Also, we could not leave so soon after your supposed disappearance and death, due to the fact that it would look suspicious."

All this information was too much, even though my brain seemed to have expanded over the last few days. The facts concerning Charlie were particularly disheartening, to know that I could never see my father again was almost unbearable. It hurt even more to know that he, along with my mother, were probably in excruciating pain right now, believing that I had died. To have my loved ones mourning for me when I was fine seemed terribly cruel.

Questions were submerged as memories were slowly coming back, particularly the ones where Edward explained a vampires extra skills and abilities. I also recalled that these vampires were different than the other due to their diet.

With this thought, a new kind of fire shot up in the back of my throat. I grabbed it, thinking that I should go and find some water. However, water is not what I craved.

"You are thirsty," stated the blonde male.

I nodded, and then said, "you are vegetarians, correct?"

"Yes," said the pixie happily. "You should go on your first hunt immediately. After all, it's not like we do not have all the time in the world to talk, for I see you still have a lot of questions for us" She smiled at me and then her face went blank as if she could see something that was hidden to the rest of us. "I for-see Edward and Emmett taking you."

The bronze haired boys head shot up, revealing a mask of anguish and pain. A caramel haired woman spoke up, "Do you really think that is wise, Alice?"

"That is what the future says," she shrugged. I looked at her perplexed and she explained that her, Jasper, and Edward all possessed extra abilities, because discovering that you had recently become a vampire seemed to not fill the supernatural quota for the day. She told me that she could see the outcomes of decisions, Jasper could manipulate emotions, and that Edward could read minds. I recollected that Edward had been frustrated that mine had been the one mind that his power could not penetrate.

Going hunting with Edward scared me slightly; after all I was the reason that he had lost his perfect self-control. The reason why he could not meet my eye was probably due to the fact that he hated me. And at the moment I was too confused to place my feelings about him. I remembered ghost emotions from a previous life: attraction, trepidation, and… love? Yes, that was it. I had been in love with this rendition of Michelangelo's David, who was still artfully avoiding my eyes, and looking at him again I realized that I still was. This thought saddened me, for I knew that he could never look at me in any way but a mistake.

I needed time to clear my head and if I could do this while soothing the ache in the back of my throat, well I could accept that. However the thought of drinking from a living thing was not that appetizing, however I knew when they had said the word 'blood' that it was what I so intensely craved. At least I did not have to feed off a human, because I'm not sure if I would be able to survive the guilt if I were to steal somebody's life.

"Alright, lets hunt," I said with far more courage than I had.

**EPOV**

I could not bring myself to look at her face, to see the accusation in her eyes. Throughout her interview with Carlisle and Alice I kept my eyes occupied, while hanging on to her every word. I could not believe that she had not attacked me yet, screamed at me, or called me a thousand of horrible words that could be labeled to a demon such as myself.

However, she had not. In fact she was surprisingly calm, especially for one so new to this life. I had seen the way that most newborns reacted after waking up from Jasper's memories and she defiantly did not fit the description. I could see from his thoughts, that Jasper was also astounded that she was so lucid at this point.

When Alice mentioned that I would be hunting with Bella, my head snapped up. What could she be thinking? Was she trying to torture Bella, and myself as well?

"Oh calm down, Edward," she said in her thoughts, "It will be fine."

Bella agreed and her, Emmett, and I were soon flying through the forest. At first she had been a little hesitant of what to do, but Emmett had explained that she just had to let her instincts take over. I had stood back, not wanting to force my company on her, until she took off with a speed that was only slightly less than my own. Emmett and I let Bella pull ahead slightly, as we flanked her. It was inadvisable to crowd a vampire who was hunting, particularly a newborn.

Bella still seemed unsure of what to do, so Emmett suggested in his thoughts that we pull back a little bit. "I think she is embarrassed to let go," said Emmett's mental voice, "she won't do what she needs to do if we stay this close."

I felt uneasy let her get any further away, however I followed Emmett's suggestion. We fell back until she was several miles ahead of us, her long brown hair flying around her as she ran.

She was tracking a herd of deer when she suddenly changed directions. Confused, Emmett and I followed her. We both caught the sweet scent far too late, the delectable scent of a human.

Even with my superior speed there was no way that we would catch her in time. I knew all too well what killing a human did to your conscious and Bella was so innocent. Something like this would destroy her. I pumped my legs to their maximum capacity, hoping for a miracle, as Bella closed in on her startled looking prey. A lone hiker looked up at her in wonder as she went in for the kill.

Just as she was about to sink her teeth into the neck of her poor victim, an over sized dog plowed into her side, deterring her from her goal.

"Bella," I shouted.

**Sorry for another cliffhanger, but it seemed like a good place to end this chapter. Please, don't forget to review and tell me what you think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, particularly the person who caught my mistake last chapter. I completely forgot about the hospital scene, where Bella met Carlisle. I really appreciate hearing what you all think, so don't forget to review this chapter. **

**Chapter 4**

**EPOV**

The dog knocked Bella over with a force that carried both of them out of view into the forest, away from the human, who had fainted about a minute ago. I was astonished, as my mind indentified the animal from the time when we Cullen's had first inhabited Forks. However, we had believed that the pack died out with demise of Ephraim's generation. It appeared we had been mistaken.

Emmett and I ran to find the beast bearing down on Bella, its claws extended to take a swipe at her face while growling menacingly. As he took his swipe, his knife-like claws found no purchase in her skin, instead his paw seemed to bounce back. For some reason, the animal seemed to be unable to actually touch her as she looked up at him with pure terror on her face. I did not have time to ponder this oddity, for within seconds Emmett had charged into the wolf and I had made my way over to make sure Bella was all right, both physically and emotionally.

"Are you okay," I asked her. Shock registered in her eyes as she looked up to find that I was the speaker. Words seemed to fail her, however there was no time for a conversation at the moment anyway, due to the fact that a brawl consisting of a white and black blur was taking place mere inches from us.

Eventually, Emmett had pinned the giant dogs front legs behind its enlarged back preventing the animal from any movement. A string of mental profanities and accusations issued from the mind of the shape-shifter, who I soon discovered was Sam Uley.

"If you want to speak to us, you need to transform first. We promise not to attack, as long as you do not threaten any of us," I replied to his mental outburst.

He appeared shocked that I had replied to his thoughts, but he soon agreed to the conditions and I nodded in Emmett's direction, signaling him to release the wolf. The next second a Native American man stood before us, without a scrape of clothing covering his body.

"You could have gotten dressed first," I said pointedly, however he seemed to ignore my comment, as he was already bearing down on Emmett and myself.

"I knew you bloodsuckers had something to do with the Swan girl's disappearance," shouted the Sam, his face turning from brown to bright red and his nostrils flaring. "Not only have you broken the treaty and killed an innocent girl," he gestured in Bella's direction. I knew that the he would see what I had done to Bella as nothing short of murder. To him Bella Swan was now dead and the thing that sat before him was nothing more than her animated corpse. "Now I find that same girl about to murder an innocent hiker, on Quileute land might I add," Sam exhaled.

Here Emmett interceded, "okay, you seriously need to calm down. First of all, we never intended to, well, change Bella and she did not know that she had crossed onto your lands." I winced at the reference to Bella's recent change.

"I need to calm down," Sam spat, with a sarcastic edge to his voice, "The treaty has been broken and almost two people have fallen victim to the disgusting way you leeches sustain life. Or have you forgotten that I have just stopped one of your own from feeding on a human back there." Bella looked down, ashamed at what she had almost done. If she still had the ability to produce tears, I believe that they would have been flowing freely down her face. The instinct that I had carried from the moment I saw her in the cafeteria flared up in full force, the instinct to protect her.

"You have to understand that she is a newborn, she does not have the control necessary to be around humans, yet," I responded, angry that this man, however justifiable his case may be, was making Bella feel worse about a situation that was out of her control. "We were taking her hunting, however we let her pull too far ahead. It is our fault, for we should have been closer in order to refrain her from an incident like this."

"You're damn right it's your fault," snarled Sam, "I knew the elders were wrong to trust you, after all who ever heard of a bloodsucker possessing any honor. The pack should have drove you out when you first arrived, and furthermore the events that have occurred today are unforgivable. Just because the packs numbers have decreased since the last time, does not mean that you leeches have free-reign."

"And what are you going to do about it, dog," sneered Emmett, flexing his muscles. I minutely shook my head in Emmett's direction, because I knew that Emmett was not saying this to be malicious, but to provoke a fight. Emmett lived for the heat of battle. However, now was neither the time or the place, for everyone present knew that we were in the wrong in and this situation had already escalated much too further than necessary.

"Don't under estimate me, leech. And I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell you and your 'family' to leave this place and not return for another two hundred years," Sam ordered. I could see from his mind that he wanted to tell us to never return, however, despite his bravado, he was afraid to start a fight where he obviously would be grossly outnumbered. I could also see that Sam was not so much concerned about his own death, but the results his death would mean for the rest of his village and a woman named Emily. It seemed that he was the only one to have under gone the change, so far, and he did not want to leave his people unprotected.

It still puzzled me, as to the fact that there were still any were wolves left. Maybe his case was a freak occurrence of the shape-shifting gene. This thought comforted me, for if I was incorrect, it would mean that more of the locals would soon be exploding into mammoth dogs in the near future.

"We are leaving tomorrow," I responded, "it has already been decided and we promise not to return until another two centuries have passed." There were plenty of places to take up residence, after all, the only problem this plan presented is that it effectively cut Bella off from ever having the possibility of seeing her family again, even from a distance. If the agreement was upheld, she would not even be able to attend her father's funeral. I glanced in her direction to read her expression at the formation of this new contract, however her face betrayed nothing. It was almost as if the emotions were simply too much and she had briefly lost the aptitude to feel.

Sam was clearly discontented with the proposed arrangement, however he was relieved that his generation would no longer have to deal with the threat of the 'cold ones.' He even entertained the possibility that the shape-shifting trait might die out by the time we decided to return to Forks. It briefly struck me that Sam was no more comfortable with his super-natural nature than my family and I were.

With the treaty re-enforced, Sam began to explode into his wolf form, as I centered myself in front of Bella. It was, after all, our instincts to attack one another and I did not want to put her in any type of danger. I realized, however, that my stress was pointless, as we watched the large black wolf disappear into the foliage, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

I turned around to speak with Bella, to ensure her that none of this was her fault. However, the words did not get past my lips, for what I witnessed broke my frozen heart.

**BPOV**

I falling apart, right there on the forest floor, as everything that had occurred today washed over me with the brute force of a tidal wave. I had almost killed an innocent being and on top of that I had gotten the Cullens exiled from Forks for two centuries. My arms snaked around my body to keep it from breaking open at the seams, as I heaved dry sobs.

When Edward finally turned around, I could not meet his eyes. There, I was sure to find anger and disappointment; anger for all that I had done to his family and disappointment that he had ever had the misfortune to encounter me, his mistake. The very thought made my sobs increase to the point where I literally could not breathe, however I discovered I did not need to. Edward and Emmett seemed unsure of what to do, as they stared at my crying form. Emmett seemed to turn away out of respect, but Edward appeared compelled to comfort me, for some reason.

Edward moved as if he wanted to put his arm around me, however at the last moment he seemed to think better of it. He settled for seating himself on the dry leaves next to me. After all, who would want to touch the cause of some much anguish?

"Bella," he whispered in his musical voice, "this is not your fault. Emmett and I should have been closer. It was stupid of us to give you so much room; don't for a moment even think of blaming yourself."

I looked at him in awe, as the absurd thought that I should not blame myself washed over me. How on earth was this anyone's fault but my own? I was a despicable excuse for a human, but wait, I could longer wear the title of human, how fitting.

I searched his eyes for some type of falsehood, but only perfect honestly radiated from his topaz orbs. Fleetingly, I wondered if I too now had honey colored eyes that seemed to be a staple of the Cullen clan, but this thought was banished by more pressing matters.

"How can you say that," I muttered, "I almost killed someone. I was so close, if that man had been just a second too late..." I shuddered at the thought before continuing, "and now your family will have to leave their home, all because of me."

Not even thinking, I leaned forward to bury my head into his shirt, hoping that if I hid my eyes from the rest of the world, that I could repair the irrevocable damage I had caused in the course of one day. Edward seemed taken aback by this action, however eventually he relaxed and began to gently stroke my hair.

It seemed that we were in this position for hours, yet in reality it was probably only minutes. Eventually, I regained the ability to control my breathing once again and was able to notice the awkward position that I had put both of us in.

Quickly, I pulled back and muttered, "sorry." I wondered why I did not feel the heat of a blush rise to my face, as it had done so many times before in far less embarrassing situations.

"It's all right," he whispered back. I took a glance at his eyes, expecting to find relief over the fact that I had finally moved, however his eyes held only sadness and regret. He probably was thinking about his family's predicament.

"Where's Emmett," I questioned quietly.

"He left to inform the family what happened and to help them pack," he replied, still looking at me strangely, as if he feared I would break down at any moment. I nodded and stared out into the trees, remembering that they were forced to pack up their possessions because of my mistakes.

"Should we go and help them," I asked in a choked voice.

"No," replied Edward, far too tenderly, "you still need to hunt if we are going to make that long of a journey."

I nodded in agreement. The thought that I could ever be a threat to another human being was enough to scare me into submission. I therefore stayed close to Edward, as him and I flew through the forest in search of my first meal. Eventually we came upon some deer, which instantly soothed the constant burn in the back of my throat.

We made our way back to the house in silence, for I was feeling too dejected to form logical sentences. Tomorrow we would journey to Alaska, where I would begin my new life and try to atone for my numerous crimes.

**EPOV**

It was truly sick that I should find pleasure in Bella's pain, however in the moments that she had allowed me to hold her, I had an overwhelmingly sense of joy and contentment. It was as if we were two pieces of the same puzzle as I sat with her, stroking her hair. All my worries seemed to vanish in this time and I found myself wishing that we could stay that way forever.

All too soon, she moved to get up, as she discovered what she had done in her moment of despair. Shock covered her face, as she mumbled her apologies. I cursed myself for taking advantage of her like that, just because I desired to hold her close did not mean that she would want the same. I was the reason that she had almost murdered somebody today and now I was the reason that she would have to give up her human life forever. She would never again see the faces of her family or friends, due to my lack of self-control. To make things worse, I could see that she still blamed herself for today's events.

I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her how silly she was to believe that this was her fault. But I couldn't. It was not my right to touch her in any way, not after what I had done to her.

In due course, I convinced her to complete her hunting trip. After she had finished, she elapsed into silence for the rest of the journey back to the house. By the time, we entered the living room, everything was covered in sheets or packed in boxes. We moved so frequently, that we kept all of our houses stocked with a full array of furniture in case we needed to leave a town quickly. When we did leave a place, we took only our personal possessions that could not be replaced.

I made my way up to my room to pack my belongings. Before I went, I offered Bella a shower, to wash away the blood that had been caked onto her figure from the hunt. Table manners were a acquired trait, after all. She silently nodded in acceptance and within minutes she was in the bathroom down the hall from my room with the hot water running.

I just finished my packing when I heard an impatient knock at my door. Without waiting for me to answer, Alice bound in, as if she did not have a care in the world.

"You could have waited for me to answer," I said, even forcing a small smile. There was something about Alice that always seemed to lighten my mood.

"Ah, but I could see you were going to answer," she said, tapping her temple while sauntering over to take a seat on my couch, "and honestly, what would be the point of waiting. Besides, I for-saw that you could use some help with your boxes and we need to determine seating arrangements."

From here, she began to speak using her mental voice, "I think it would be a good idea for you to drive with Bella."

"No, Alice," I exhaled, "she has lost so much in the last couple of hours and to force her to sit in a car, for an extended period of time, with the cause of all her misfortunes, would be inhumanly cruel."

"I think you both need to stop blaming yourselves for what's happened," Alice's thoughts shot back, "you know, she is just as bad as you."

It saddened me to think that Bella still blamed herself for the incident in the woods, however this was one argument that Alice was not going to win. "I'm surprised that she has even spoken with me today. I would not even begin to consider putting her in a situation like that. If she can eventually forgive me, it will be a miracle, but I do not want to push her."

"Fine," Alice, said in defeat, "she can drive up with me and Jasper. After all I need to get her sizes. I mean she is a Cullen now, she needs to look the part." A shiver of pleasure ran down my spine when Alice called Bella a Cullen. I noticed Alice's gaze dart over to my own wardrobe, instantly turning this pleasure into a cringe.

"It seems I will be shopping for two," she muttered, wondering how she had let my supply of clothing become so depleted. As much as I detested the thought of yet another session of measurements and comparing color swatches, I was glad that Alice had reverted back to a more trivial topic, then that of Bella. I could see from her mind, that Alice had done this intentionally, as Alice always knew when was the correct time to push and when it was wise to simply take a step back. No one could ask for a better sister or friend.

"Thank you, Alice," I said, ruffling her cropped hair.

"Since when did you react so well to shopping," she teased.

I rolled my eyes before saying seriously, "for trying to make me feel better." This had to been the first time that I had allowed myself a moment without the constant repentance of what I had done. It felt as if, briefly, a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I wondered if this is what it would feel like if Bella would ever find the compassion to forgive me, before abolishing myself for even considering the possibility.

"I knew you would say that," she replied playfully. I groaned, of course she had.

"So, did you actually come up here to help me or just stare at me, while I do all the work," I questioned.

"Oh, I think I have done enough 'work' for one day," she replied, cheekily, "after all, keeping this family from falling apart and dealing with two highly emotional vampires on top of that, is extremely exhausting work. And besides, I need to find Bella and Jasper and get on the road. Oh, and by the way, we are taking your Aston Martin" With that she flew from my room, before I could protest to her driving my 'special occasion' car. But then Bell would be in it and the thought of her alluring scent being engrained into the seat did not seem like such a bad idea. I quickly moved all of the boxes downstairs, however, despite my speed, everyone was gone by the time I had loaded up my Volvo.

Thus, I began the journey to our new home. Without Alice's comforting presence, I was able to, once again, wallow in the remorse of the actions that I had preformed against Bella. Though a tiny, sick part of me was happy that she was in this life now, elated that I would be able to see her every single day. This part was even beginning to believe that maybe her forgiving was not as crazy as I previously thought. But these thoughts would not offer satisfaction for very long and soon I was, once again, pulled into a downward spiral of remorse and regret.

**Please, don't forget to review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Thank you to those that reviewed and yes a Vanquish apparently does only have two seats, good catch. So I guess Jasper just rode in the truck or something. **

**Don't forget to review!**

**Chapter 5**

**APOV**

Two weeks had passed. Two weeks since we had arrived to the white house, that was so similar to the house in Forks, in the middle of the vast Alaskan wilderness. This was the place were we went to escape civilization, thus it was an ideal place to bring a bloodthirsty newborn. In those two weeks, our family had resettled itself into its new surroundings.

The only problem with this ideal scenario was the fact that my thickheaded brother and equally stubborn new sister were both being annoyingly slow. At this point, they could at least stand to be in the same room together and hold a conversation, but beyond that they were completely useless. Although getting them in the same room was always a challenge in itself as they both sulked in their rooms all day, Edward listening to music and Bella constantly reading.

Still, visions of them together and happy constantly plagued my mind, making their acceptance of the relationship only a question of time. I spoke to Jasper, just to make sure that I was not incorrect in my predictions, however he only confirmed my suspicions. They both loved each other intensely, but guilt seemed to over ride this emotion, causing both of them to refrain from acting on their desires. I swear, I have never encountered two people more bent on ruining their own happiness.

This is why, being the kind person that I am, I decided to intercede on their behalf. I looked to the future for guidance and found that if the family and I went on a hunting expedition, events might be sped up to the slightest degree. It had to happen soon though, as Edward and Bella had just returned from a hunt and would not need to accompany us.

I discussed the possibility with the rest of the family and they all agreed readily, well, most of them anyway. I won't deny that Rosalie took a while to convince. I warned them all to keep their thoughts to themselves, to which they rolled their eyes. We had all lived with Edward long enough to learn how to control our thoughts.

And so the plan was set in motion. We only anticipated on being gone for one night, but according to my vision that would be all it would take. The night of our departure came, with Emmett practically bouncing up and down with excitement. After all, this was the first time we had scheduled an extended trip and he was eager to wrestle with the polar bears that resided on the far north end of the state. Esme and I were, however eager for an entirely different reason as we said good-bye to an oblivious Edward and Bella, before making our way through the surrounding forest. I looked ahead to the future, to make sure nothing had gone wrong, however again I saw a foggy Edward sitting at his piano with Bella. I grinned wickedly to myself; after all I do love happy endings.

**EPOV**

This entire week Alice had been exceedingly frustrating. Every time I had gotten near her, she would begin to think about some of the most insipid thoughts imaginable. I mean there were only so many languages that you could translate the constitution and I believe she must have used them all. There was only one explanation for this type of behavior; she was hiding something from me. I had a feeling that the rest of the family was in on it, because, while their minds were not as evasive as Alice's, they did seem to be attempting to concentrate harder on menial tasks than they normally would.

I was expecting to be informed that I would be my existence would be brought to an end in a freak accident any day now, or worse that Bella had finally decided to leave. It therefore came as a surprise when Alice told me that her and the rest of the family would simply be going on a hunting trip.

"It will only be for one night and I know you and Bella just went hunting, so you two will probably want to sit this one out," she said a little too nonchalantly, her mind still annoying blank.

"Naturally," I replied smoothly, narrowing my eyes.

When the time came to leave, Esme surprised me giving me a quick hug and whispering in my ear, "we will be back tomorrow. Have fun." She then took off at Carlisle side, with Emmett, who could not keep his mind off polar bears, and Rosalie leading. Alice and Jasper were the last to disappear into the velvety night, hands clasped as they went.

I looked around wondering what on earth I was going to do with myself for the next twelve hours, as I heard Bella turn a page of a book upstairs with a sigh. If I was honest with myself, I wanted nothing more than to go up there and just be with her, however she was making such progress with me. However, she still always seemed hesitant, like she was uncomfortable in my presence, and I did not want to force my company on her. I was still shocked that she had yet to run from the house, screaming as she went, upon realizing exactly what I had taken away from her.

My eyes scanned the room for some type of distraction, when they fell on the grand piano in the corner of the room. It had been awhile since I had played, since before the meadow incident, actually. I had simply been too depressed to focus on any one pursuit for very long, however at the moment, the piano seemed like the perfect solution to my current restlessness.

Within a second I was seated before the magnificent instrument, with my fingers extended to play. Without even consciously picking the tune, the notes of a composition that I had been working on for Bella from the time when I had first met her filled the room. I was so engrossed in the bitter sweet melody encasing the air that I did not hear Bella's soft foot steps as she approached, I did however here her exhale at the end of the piece.

I turned around to see her standing at the bottom of the stairs with an awestruck look on her face, which immediately turned to embarrassment upon being discovered.

"I'm sorry, I was in my room when I heard you and…," she said, not completing her thought.

"Its fine," I said, happy as always to have an excuse to speak with her. "You can watch if you want to. I don't mind." I gestured to the many chairs that adorned the living room. "Or not," I replied to her look of hesitation.

She, however, came to sit on the stool next to me, which was the closest she and I had been since she had broken down that day in the forest. If I were a human, I believe my heart would have been racing.

"That was beautiful," she whispered, "what you played before, I mean." Her blood-red eyes met mine briefly before she redirected her attention at the sheet music. I recalled the incident that had happened the day we had moved in to this house, when Bella had first caught a glimpse of her reflection. At first, she had stood before the mirror taking in the changes the venom had preformed on her body, before stepping back in horror. She had caught sight of the sinister color of her eyes and it had taken Alice and Esme several minutes to calm her down, promising Bella that the color would change eventually. I had noticed how since that incident, Bella had artfully avoided looking into anything reflective. Normally, the redness of traditional vampires eyes repulsed me, because of what the shade represented, but on Bella it simply looked warm and inviting.

"It was written for you," I replied in an equally soft tone. I briefly glanced in her direction, to see if I had taken this conversation to far. She looked slightly taken aback, before a look of astonishment settled across her face.

"That was for me," she questioned, almost disbelievingly, as if I would lie to her.

I nodded before turning away and saying, "but that was before..." I did not need to finish the sentence, for we both knew what I was referring to. I hung my head down in shame.

"I'm so sorry," she replied, with the air of someone confessing their darkest secrets "it was all my fault, I should not have come that day. If I had not maybe you and your family would still be in Forks."

My head snapped up and I almost feel the anger radiating from my figure. Her face crumpled, as if my reaction confirmed her misplaced belief.

"Never, never blame yourself," I choked, my voice burning with sincerity, "I _never_ want you to blame yourself for that again. I was the one who stole away your family and your life. It was completely my doing, my mistake."

She winced at the last word, her brow forming a crease. How I wished in that moment that I could somehow penetrate her thoughts, unfortunately they remained as elusive as ever. Despite my inability to see her mind, I could tell she did not wholly accept my words, however she did seem to be marginally more at ease with me after my outburst. Only with time would I force her to see that the error had been mine, but for now, she at least seemed slightly more relaxed.

"Would you play that song again," she requested, as if trying to stray away from the murky subject of her change.

I was only too happy to comply, as my fingers once again breezed over the smooth, ivory keys. I glanced up every now and then out of the corner of my eye, to find her staring at me. At the conclusion of the song, I whipped my head around to catch her gaze before it fell.

"Bella," I whispered. But at that particular moment, there was no need for words, for my body was leading me to do what my mind would not allow. I leaned in, so like the moment in the meadow that had set off this sequence of events. However, this time, my lips met hers in a passionate but chaste kiss.

When I pulled away she said, in a barely audible voice, "I've often imagined that." When she opened her eyes she looked horror struck, as if she had just uttered a disgusting swear word.

I almost laughed at her expression, if she only knew the things I had thought about her. But then it hit me that she didn't. She did not even know that I loved her, in fact, after the way I had been acting over the past couple of weeks, so closed and secluded, she probably was entertaining the ridiculous notation that I did not care for her at all. This realization hit me as hard as her scent had on that first day in biology.

She was just about to turn away when I replied, "you are not the only one." Shock covered her face and if she had still been human, I believe she would have been beat red. I shyly took her hand, before pulling her into my chest, where she fit perfectly. Happiness coursed through my veins at the thought that she could possibility feel, to some degree, the way I felt about her. We stayed in this same attitude until we felt the first rays of the suns warmth hit us and, in the distance, I heard the thoughts of my family as they approached the house.

"They are back," I said, sorry to break the moment. She sat erect with disappointment written clearly across her face as she bite her lip.

"We should probably go meet them," she said with a sigh, "Emmett's probably dying to inform us about the all the polar bears he caught last night."

I nodded, a smile breaking over my face. She seemed to daze off for a minute, before shaking her head and muttering something about it being unfair to dazzle people.

I moved with her to the door where we met the beaming faces of six vampires.

**BPOV**

Last night was the happiest I had allowed myself to be since the day I was bitten. The last few weeks I had hovered between a state of fear and depression, as I tried to adapt to this new way of life. It was difficult to deal with the ever constant burn in my throat that was my reminder of what I had become. Everyday, I missed Charlie and Renee, wondering where they were and what they were doing at that particular moment and hoping that they had found the strength to get on with their lives. I never confided these thoughts to any one, as I already felt gulity enough for being the catalyst for the Cullens most recent move out of civilization.

I was not allowed to go out, except when I needed to hunt and I always had an escort. I believe I was slowly going stir-crazy in this picturesque house, so I retreated to the one place that I had found refuge so many times before, the pages of my books.

It was in these pages that I first heard the beautifully haunting melody, that was issuing from down stairs. The decision to follow it allowed me a to discover the reason that Edward had been avoiding me since the time in the woods, which was that he too felt intense guilt for what had happened. This revaluation in short, astonished me.

I could not believe that Edward did not believe that this was my fault; I did not miss the fact, however, that he called me his mistake. I realized in that moment that nothing would ever change that. When he looked at me he would be forever reminded of his one great slip.

At the moment, however, I could almost forget that fact, as we went to meet his, or should I now say my, family as they arrived home from their hunt. Alice and Esme looked as if Christmas had come early as they took in our entwined hands. Emmett and Jasper gave Edward a knowing look and Carlisle grinned, as if he had been expecting this all along. Rosalie simply looked bored.

The rest of the day was spent in comfort as we all sat in the living listening to Emmett give a blow-by-blow of how he had taken down a particularly ferocious bear. At least it was comfortable until Alice suddenly froze just as Emmett was about to relay how he had preformed the killing pounce.

When she finally came to again, she had a smile on her face before she stated, eagerly, "the Denali's are coming for a visit. They will be here any minute."

Everyone perked up upon receiving this news, except Edward, who frowned slightly at this new piece of information.

"Who are the Denali's," I asked.

"Old family friends," Jasper responded.

This did not explain the look on Edwards face.

"What's wrong ," I asked him quietly.

His face morphed into a frozen mask, before replying, "nothing."

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Alice shake her head in response to a glance Edward had thrown her way. Her face also seemed to have fallen slightly, as if she had suddenly remembered something unpleasant. Their reactions did nothing to suppress my nerves that came with the information that I was about to meet a group vampires other than the Cullens.

Just then there was a knock at the door and Carlisle disappeared into the foyer to answer it. I heard the lithe footsteps of five vampires crossing the threshold and giving their greetings to Carlisle, before moving toward the living room, where we were all seated.

Two extremely beautiful women, one with pencil straight blonde hair and one with wavy brown locks followed a dark haired male and female holding hands. Behind Carlisle, entered a female that could give Rosalie a run for her money in the beauty department. Strawberry blonde hair flowed down her back and her devastatingly gorgeous face held a breath-taking smile. She scanned the room before her gaze landed on the vampire next to me, who was so stiff at this point that he resembled a statue.

"Edward," she sang, "how lovely to see you."

**Please, don't forget to review! **


	6. Chapter 6

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Again, thank you so much to all of you who took the time to review. I really enjoy reading what you have to say. And on that happy note, I would greatly appreciate it if you would review this chapter.**

**Chapter 6**

**EPOV**

While the news that the Denali's were coming seemed to be welcome to the majority of the vampires in the room, I was not too happy about the forthcoming visit. It is not that I did not enjoy the Denali's company; I just did not like being the object of Tanya's amusement every time our families met.

Tanya and her sisters, who had once inspired the myths of the succubus, were very good at getting others to bend to their whims. Upon meeting our family, Tanya made advances on the only bachelor of the family at the time, that bachelor being myself. I had turned her down, which she took with surprisingly good grace, due mostly to the fact that she believed that I was not interested in a relationship of any kind. In other words she labeled me as a hermit and moved on to her next conquest without another thought. Since then, things had been friendly, if not a little awkward between us.

Apparently, the extent of her wounded pride had been concealed from me, because the second she viewed my close posture to Bella, jealousy seem to momentarily consume her mind. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her lips turned down in a grimace, as she turned to whisper something to her sisters. When she turned toward the family again, her face was once again adorned with a wide smile that did not quite touch her eyes and her thoughts moved to a more appropriate territory.

Her reaction puzzled me, yet maybe she had simply been waiting for me to view her as more than a friend. But, then, perhaps I was just being paranoid.

"And who is this young one," asked Irina, gesturing to Bella, her thoughts amused at Tanya's apparent annoyance.

Carlisle was the first to respond, "this is the newest addition to our family, Bella. And Bella, may I introduce the Denali's. This is Irina, Kate, Carmen, Eleazar, and Tanya." Carlisle signaled each vampire in turn as he said his or her names.

"Nice to meet you," Bella said, her voice only holding the smallest amount of uncertainty.

"It is lovely to make your acquaintance as well, Bella," replied Eleazar in his deep, melodic voice, his mind oblivious to the previous tension.

The Denali's came in and greeted the rest of the Cullens, before all taking seats at various points in the room.

All the Denali's minds were buzzing over their curiosity about our newest addition, as Carlisle had called Bella and after the formalities had been accomplished it was only a matter of time before the inevitable questions began.

"So," stated Irina, unable to reign her desire for answers in any longer, "how is it you came to acquire Bella?"

"She had an… accident of sorts," stated Carlisle, trying to gloss over the reason Bella was no longer human, "and she decided that she preferred our lifestyle to that of the traditional one for our kind."

"An accident," asked Carmen, raising her eyebrows inquisitively.

"Edward lost control," Rosalie supplemented. I suppressed a growl from rising in my chest, after all, it was not as if Rosalie was lying, she was simply being blunt.

"Edward lost control? That has to be a first," said Tanya, whose tone held a slight edge to it, despite her sunny manor.

"Well it does not matter as to the reasons now, as we have gained a new daughter," said Esme, happily.

"So you are staying then Bella," questioned Tanya, "have you given no thought to leaving. I mean there are other means of living then just the one that is presented to you. Would it not be prudent to explore all your options before settling down in one place for all eternity? Perhaps the South?"

Tanya's words infuriated me. It almost sounded as if she was trying to convince Bella to leave, which even my feelings aside, was a nonsensical idea. Bella was still a newborn and without the restraint that this family offered she would go wild within a week. And the idea of Bella living in the South was preposterous. The look on Jaspers face at the suggestion was enough to pay tribute to how insane of an idea it was for Bella to go anywhere near the Southern states, where war was a way of life. Not to mention that if Bella left, she would be taking piece of me with her.

I snuck a glance in Bella's direction, to see how she had reacted to these words, yet her face betrayed nothing. She stared into space for a moment, as if digesting Tanya's words or, even worse, considering them. I seemed to be rendered speechless for the moment, so instead I settled for simply sending a warning glare in Tanya's direction.

Alice was the first to break the heavy silence, "Bella is welcome to leave us whenever she likes, however I already view her as a sister and would be upset, to say the least, if she were to go." Jasper put his arms around his wife, in order to calm her and under his touch she visibly relaxed.

Bella, suddenly snapped out of her reverie and said, in a voice that left no room for argument, "I am here until the Cullens what me to leave." I almost exhaled in relief, because for one moment I had allowed myself to believe that Bella might actually heed Tanya's warning and depart.

"I meant nothing by it of course," Tanya replied, trying to add some hint of warmth to her tone, "simply stating the facts." Her smile grew larger as she finished her statement. Bella nodded in response, seeming to take Tanya's smile as a cease-fire. I could only wish that this was the meaning behind her tone, however her mind told me that this expression was being used for deceit. The longer the situation played out, the less comfortable I became.

"So," Carlisle broke our pattern of discussion and in that moment becoming my saving grace, "what prompted you to give us the honor of your visit?"

"We were in the area, hunting, when we caught your scents," Kate said. "We had not realized that you were back in the area, or we would have come sooner. It has really been too long since the last time we have met and so much seems to have happened!"

"Too bad you didn't," Emmett said, who had been oddly silent until this point, "it is always entertaining to watch you and Jasper fight. Last time you finished with him, he looked like he had shoved his hand in a light socket," Emmett snickered as he vividly recalled the memory that featured Jasper with his hair standing on end as he twitched on the ground.

Jasper narrowed his eyes at Emmett, before, before countering, "oh, yes, because you did so much better. I least I lasted more than two minutes. And if I remember correctly, I was the victor in our last match."

"That was luck," Emmett shot back.

"Well we are here now," Irina replied, breaking up their little argument, "and I'm sure Kate would be more than happy to have a rematch anytime you would like."

Kate grinned evily and replied, "anytime you both feel man enough, I'm game."

And with that, the company broke into smaller groups that carried on comfortable conversations, one consisting of Jasper, Emmett, and Kate solidifying the details of their next sparring match, which apparently was to take place within the next hour.

The discovery that Bella possessed similar feelings as mine had opened up a world of possibilities that I had previously thought to be impossible. Today I had intended on beginning to exploring these each of these possibilities to their fullest potential. However, I was not deluded enough to believe that I could move fast with Bella, considering the circumstances, but Tanya being here was not the way I imagined the ideal beginning in my mind. 'Great,' I thought to myself, 'the next couple of hours are definitely going to be interesting.'

**BPOV**

I felt unquestionably like the odd man out in this scenario of such old friends. The Denali's were not unkind, it was just, after Tanya's words, I felt my self-conscious take a significant hit. I did not understand how first Rosalie and now Tanya could dislike me so quickly and for no apparent reason.

It also, did not escape my notice how Tanya looked at Edward and I wondered if there was anything between them. Along this chain of thought, I arrived to the theory that maybe last night had not meant anything. Maybe Edward was just attempting to be a gentleman and was only acting from guilt, feeling the need to comfort his mistake. I instantly pushed the thought back of my mind, scolding myself for jumping to conclusions. However, now that it was formed, the thought stayed there, playing wickedly on my insecurities.

Nonetheless, I did not appreciate Tanya's none too subtle hints that I should leave. After I spoke, however, Tanya seemed genuinely sorry for her previous words. Maybe she was just reacting to the shock of meeting someone new. It could have even been that I imagined any malicious intent issuing from her, however only time would tell.

Eventually, Eleazar and Carlisle turned their attention back to Carmen, Edward, and I, who were beginning a conversation on the different powers of the Denali clan.

"Irina, Tanya, and myself are devoid of any special gifts," said Carmen, to my eager inquires, "but, Kate can produce a type of electrical current, which is what Emmett was referring to a few moments ago. Its quite powerful when she wants it to be. And then there is Eleazar here, who can read the gifts of other vampires. Sometimes, he can even read humans, if the power that they will carry over is strong enough."

"Really, that's incredible" I replied in awe, for the idea that beings that already naturally possessed so many enhanced abilities could have extra gifts was mind numbing. I was almost a little disappointed that I was yet to exhibit any kind of super trait, but then I was plain as a human and it should not surprise me that this fact was proven true on my transformation to a vampire.

As if he was reading my thoughts, Eleazar broke into the conversation, "I believe you yourself are in possession of one of these gifts that you find so spectacular, are you not Bella?"

I looked up at him uncertainly, before answering, "not that I am aware of."

"What haven't any of your noticed her extra ability," Eleazar inquired, looking slightly taken aback at our apparent ignorance in the matter before continuing, "surely, you cannot read her thoughts Edward?"

Edward nodded, his face holding a puzzled frown, as I looked at Eleazar, incredulously, waiting for him to continue. Alice and Jasper also turned in our direction to hear Eleazar's next words.

"What do you see her possessing," asked Carlisle, who's voice burned with curiosity.

"That's just it," Eleazar said, "I can't see anything. There is only one explanation for this, which would have to be because she is blocking me and the only way she would be able to do that is if she had a shielding power of some sort. It would be interesting to see how far her power extends."

"That day in the woods," said Edward's stunned voice, "when Sam was standing over her..." He seemed to be caught up in thought once again, however I did not need him to finish, for I recalled the event perfectly. Sam was leaning over me and raised his claws, that looked more akin to serrated knives, back for what looked liked the killing blow, only to seem to pause mere inches from my face. I had not had time to think about it then, because after that events had moved far too quickly.

"It looks like we will able to test that theory soon," Alice said, her bell-like voice breaking into everyone's thoughts.

It appeared she was right, because the next moment Emmett jumped up, as Jasper and Kate finished hedging their bets, and bellowed, "okay, so who is ready to watch me take down Jasper?"

**Please, don't forget to review! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**I still do not own Twilight. Thanks again to all those who reviewed, as always, I appreciate hearing your opinions. **

**Oh, and both questions (the one about Tanya and the one about Bella's power) will hopefully be answered throughly in this chapter. **

**EPOV**

Vicious snarls erupted from Jasper and Emmett's chests as they circled each other, both looking for the opportune opening. It was comical to listen to the thoughts issuing from their minds, as they each tried to formulate an approach that would distract the other long enough to pin him. Of course, Jasper was the master of strategy, so it did not surprise me that a second after a plan had formed in his mind; Emmett was face down on the forest floor.

"You cheated," Emmett loudly accused, "you used your power!"

Jasper did his best to appear innocent, while I tried to refrain from smirking. We both knew that he had used his extra ability to gain the advantage, but his expression was one of absolute blamelessness, that years of acting in front of humans had honed, and I found Emmett's reaction too amusing to turn Jasper in.

"Where's your proof," asked Jasper, quietly, his face taking on a challenging glare.

Emmett looked confused for a moment before responding, "but.. I felt all calm for a second, and.." His confusion seemed to be mounting as he began to doubt that Jasper had altered his emotions and he looked around at the spectators, as if asking whether or not he was imagining things. After all, Jasper's gift was very subtle. Again Jasper decided send the feeling of serenity, which gradually crept over Emmett. Emmett shook his head in defeat, his shoulders relaxing, and said with a grin, "fine, but I'll get you next time."

"I'm already shaking in terror," Jasper replied, sarcastically.

As Emmett and Jasper made their way back to the sidelines next to their wives, Kate sprang up, eager for her turn. She twirled around the circle while asking, "okay, so who's next?"

Everyone was silent, for no one enjoyed fighting with Kate due to the immense amount of pain she could inflict on her opponent.

"Come on, no takers?" questioned Kate, her smile fading.

"Bella, why don't you try? It would be an excellent chance to test your shield," said Alice. I immediately gritted my teeth and sent a glare her way, to which she replied in her thoughts, "_relax Edward. I see that Bella is going to be fine_."

I still did not feel comfortable testing this theory in such an extreme manner and I also did not like how, next to me, Tanya's eyes lit up as Bella made her way to the center of the circle.

"I've never done anything like this before," Bella gulped, before mimicking Kate's stance.

"Just go with your instincts and don't worry I'll go easy on you. At least you had the courage to try," finished Kate, sending a pointed glance in Emmett and Jaspers direction, both of who were suddenly engrossed with their shoes.

With that they began to perform what looked like a well-choreographed dance, that Emmett and Jasper had done only moments ago. Both vampires had a look of supreme concentration on her face as she tried to gain the upper hand. It took everything I had not to jump up and throw myself in front of Bella. It was even more frustrating that her thoughts remained decidedly blank, as always. To clear my anxiety, I had to remind myself that this was only a friendly game and that Bella was in no real danger.

Kate tried to lung in, but Bella easily sidestepped her, with a grace that she had only recently gained. Aggravated, Kate sank back, pondering her next move. She settled on a basic feinting move, knowing Bella was a newborn and would be governed more by her instincts and less with her mind. Thus, Kate stepped right, before switching directions in the blink of an eye. Bella saw Kate coming at her side a moment before impact, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared at the charging vampire, frozen by what I could only guess was fear. But, like the day with the werewolf, Kate came to an immediate stop mere inches away from Bella, as if she had hit some type of wall. Kate looked dumbstruck, as Bella exhaled in relief.

"How," Kate muttered, now closing the distance between Bella and her with ease. It appeared Bella did not have control of the physical aspect of her ability yet, as it only seemed to work in times of extreme stress.

"May I," questioned Kate, raising her hands to Bella. I could see from her mind she wanted to try to work her gift on Bella, to examine the extent of Bella's immunity.

"Kate, is that really necessary," I protested. What if Kate's gift did work on Bella? I clearly remembered the instance when I had been on the receiving end of Kate's shock and it did not exactly tickle.

"No, I want to see," said Tanya, surprising everyone in the circle. I had been too engrossed in the fight before to notice Tanya's expression, which for some reason was twisted into a wicked grin with her eyes shining.

I was about to get up in order to pull Kate away when Carlisle spoke up, "it would be interesting to see what would happen. Go ahead Kate."

Kate did not need any more words of encouragement and swiftly put her hands on Bella's arm. I waited for Bella to fall over screaming, but nothing happened. Several moments past as I listened to Kate focus harder and harder on pushing her surge into Bella, however Bella simply stared down at Kate's hands, waiting, like the rest of us, for something to happen.

"Incredible," Kate whispered, "that has to be a first."

I let out a sigh of relief, as Kate removed her hands and noticed that the log that I was sitting on had now deep ruts where my hands had been clutching it. I quickly removed them, showering myself with splinters in the process.

"How talented you are, Bella," said Tanya, in an almost encouraging voice, once again shocking everyone present. I tried to delve into her mind to find the source of her odd behavior, however she was simply pondering the weather. The only thing that could be considered off about her thoughts was that they did seem slightly forced, as if she was hiding something.

Bella gave her a weak smile, as the sun rose in the horizon, sending ruby facets off of everyone's granite skin.

"Well, I think its time to conclude this visit," said Carmen, "it looks like you all will have a busy day experimenting with Bella's new power, but Eleazar and I must leave and get ready for work." Both Carmen and Eleazar held jobs in Denali, while Irina, Tanya, and Kate posed as their cousins.

"We will be back soon though," promised Kate with a smile, "after all, Jasper, Emmett, you both still owe me a rematch." They both grimaced at Kate's words. With that, Eleazar, Carmen, Irina, and Kate disappeared into the trees, leaving only Tanya, who's face still held the smile of a person who had just won the lottery.

"Good-bye everyone," she said, happily, before turning to me, "see you soon, Edward." Before leaving, she dashed forward to give me a peck on the cheek and before I had time to protest, she had disappeared in the direction of her family.

I turned to meet Bella's slightly hurt eyes, hoping that I would be able to explain away all the events that had occurred last night.

**Tanya's POV**

I had waited for decades for Edward to finally come to his senses and take up my offer. I was not used to being turned down by men, so it came as a shock that I even had to jump through these kinds of hoops in order to ensnare him.

But to see him sitting next to that _child_ so protectively, had felt like a direct assault. Part of me always knew that he would be like that when he found his other half; it was just hard to accept that other half was not me. I believe my infatuation with him had always been intensified by the fact that he was the one man that I could not have; making him the one man I truly wanted.

My mind immediately began to try and find a way that I could stop what ever was happening between them, however the only path I could think of was to simply become more flirtatious. I quickly disregarded the idea, for I highly doubted he would suddenly accept now, especially since he had someone by his side, when he had not responded for so many years when he was alone. No, that method would only led to the embarrassment of another rebuff.

When all hope seemed to be lost, I heard Eleazar inform Bella that she had a gift and a powerful gift at that. From that instant a new plan began to form in my mind, a plan that would remove this child from the Cullens forever. However, I did not let it formulate too far, conscious that a mind reader and fortuneteller were in the immediate area.

Later, our families had gone outside to watch the matches and I had made it my goal to observe both how Edward and Bella reacted around each other and how powerful Bella's ability really was. As to the former, they seemed to be in the beginning stages of whatever relationship they had going, as they were both extremely cautious around each other. It almost annoyed me how little this girl seemed to know about relationships. I felt assured in the fact, that if I were to put my plan into motion quickly, that Edward would not mourn Bella's absence for long.

I was also granted my answer as to Bella's power in due time, as everyone observed in the clearing, Bella halt both a physical and mental attack from Kate. I could feel my smile grow as I observed all of these wonderful occurrences that could not have been better than if I planned them myself. The only challenge now was to keep my mind blank until the moment of our departure.

Eventually, the time came to leave and after placing a small peck on Edward's astounded face, I made my way back to the house in Denali. There I finally allowed myself to fully consider my loosely formed scheme. It would be cruel; there was no doubt about it. I briefly gave a thought to the child, who seemed so innocent, considering the damage that I would inflict. However, in this case I truly believed that the ends justified the means.

If I went through with this plan, I would have to befriend Bella, because I doubted that she would go to them willingly. She would need some type of encouragement from someone she trusted, the problem would be gaining that trust, which honestly did not seem like much of a challenge. After all, she was new to this life and would want all the companionship she could get. And what was they human phrase? Ah, yes, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer.'

With that, I picked up the phone and began dialing. It rang twice before the other line picked up and a woman said, coolly, "Hello, this is Gianna speaking. How may I help you?"

"Hello, Gianna, this is Tanya from the Denali clan. I would like to leave a message for Aro, Caius, and Marcus concerning a newborn that I believe would be of great interest to them."

**Don't forget to review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Again, thank you to all those who reviewed, I loved all your reactions to Tanya. Sorry about the delay in updating, I have been trying to get a chapter out every other day, however school decided to get in the way. So yeah, thats my lame excuse. Enjoy.**

**BPOV**

I felt my heart wretch as I watched Edward and Tanya's goodbye, confirming my beliefs that they were more than old family friends. I tried to reign the feeling in, so my face would not betray my emotions. After all, what claim did I really have to him?

For some reason, Edward glanced my direction sending me an apologetic look. A frown formed on his face, from what was, I could only imagine, my painful expression. So much for hiding my obsession with him, but then, I had never been a good actress.

Emmett's voice rang out in the clearing, "this is amazing. I've always whated to see how Edward would fair in a fight without his ability."

Edward opened his mouth to respond, but Alice beat him to the punch, "I think everyone has had enough for one day. Besides, the sun will be out all day and I see some hikers coming this way in about thirty minutes. So unless you want to give those poor people a heart-attack, I suggest we go back home."

Emmett's face fell, however he nodded in agreement and began moving in the direction of the house with his arm encircling Rosalie waist. Everyone else copied their actions, however as I made to follow them, I felt a soft hand grab mine from behind.

Edwards face met my eyes as I turned around and he said, with an unsure grin, "Come on, this way."

"But, your family," I replied, lamely.

"_Our_ family will be fine. Unless you don't want to," he finished, with a slight frown on his lips, letting go of my hand.

Of course there was nothing I wanted to do more than to follow, however my rational half was arguing that I was already far too emotionally attached than was sane. But then, I was now living in a world where reason and logic had ceased to exist. 'Oh well,' I thought to myself, 'if I'm going to fall down the rabbit hole, I might as well do it properly.'

"No, I want to come," I said and in response I received a breath-taking smile.

With that he took off, however I could see that he was not utilizing his full speed. It was almost as if his thoughts were weighing him down making it impossible for him to move at his maximum potential.

When he finally stopped, we were simply deeper in the forest, where ageless trees grew larger and closer together. It was the type of place that had the eerie feeling of changelessness, that left no doubt in my mind that if I were to come here in one-hundred years these woods would bare no impression of the passage of time. Even the sun had no impact here, as the thick foliage of the gnarled branches blocked it from completely view. Small flurries of snow sailed down every few seconds, adding to the density of the white blanket that already covered the ground. I looked at him in confusion, waiting for him to explain why he had felt the need to bring me here, only to find him turned away from me, staring off into the distance.

I did not like the way this place brought back hazy memories of that day, the day that changed everything. But even more discomforting was the omnipresent silence that infected the entire area. It is for this reason, I decided to break the silence.

"Edward," I said softly, "why are we here?"

Then he turned around with what look like fire in his eyes before saying, "it's just, everything seems to be moving so fast. Everything has felt so out of control over the past month and I have an odd feeling that it's not over yet. It's ironic, in a way, that a creature that lives outside time could feel so rushed, but it feels like something is about to happen..."

"What could possibly happen," I asked incredulously.

"I don't know, it was just Tanya," he sighed, while I prepared myself for the blow. This was it, this was when he was going to tell me, point-blank, that I had been a mistake. He would tell me that he loved the strawberry blonde beauty that I had just met and that I should leave immediately. It, therefore, surprised me when he muttered, "she seemed to be hiding something, however I did not think of it at the time. I don't know, maybe I am just being pessimistic."

I almost exhaled in relief, but I refrained, knowing that his confession was only moments away. I prayed that he would not see the pain in my eyes when he finally told me, so that I might hold some measure of dignity. It seemed I had no such luck though, because I could see his eyes tense at the sight of my contorted face.

"There's nothing between Tanya and myself," he said softly, as if for a moment he could see the inner workings of my mind, "there never has been. For over a hundred years I have walked this earth Bella, feeling complete in myself, then I met you. I cannot even find the words to describe how significantly you changed my life in only a matter of weeks. You cannot know how long I have waited for you."

His words shook me to my very core, as I took in the words he had just uttered. Disbelief flooded every part of my brain, that was trying its best to absorb this ridiculous notion that countered all of my previous beliefs in him.

"And in that one day, I seemed to ruin it all. I still don't know how you have found yourself able to forgive me, but I assure you I am eternally grateful," he hung his head, as if in despair when suddenly his eyes, which brimmed with resolve met mine again. Then he uttered the words that I never dreamed could pass his lips, "Bella, what I'm trying to say, what I have wanted to say to you since that disastrous day in the meadow is, Bella, I love you."

If I were human, I would have been blue by now from lack of air. I could not find the words to respond, which basically left me staring at him like an idiot.

The light in his eyes seemed to die as he said, "I, however, understand if you do not feel the same way." He so vulnerable as he finished this statement, that it almost broke my heart. In that moment, I wished that he could read my thoughts so he could see the depth of my feeling toward him. I was not good at expressing my feelings, a trait that I seemed to have picked up from Charlie. However, he had just lain his heart out on the table, so the speak, it was only fair that he understood how I felt as well.

"No," I whispered, trying to think of a way to describe the illogical pull that I felt toward him. I knew if I tried to make some type of romantic speech I would just end up embarrassing myself, so I decided on a blunt approach. "Despite everything that has happened, I love you too. More than you will ever know." I said the last sentence in a muted whisper. I was unable to meet his eyes in fear that he would have disappeared and I would be standing in the middle of a forest, broken and abandoned. When I finally found the strength to look up, he was staring at me as if I were a prize beyond all imagining.

With that, he closed the remaining space between us and crushed his lips into mine in undeniable passion for what seemed like an eternity. People must have been born, wars must have been fought, and civilizations must have crumbled as we stood there in the middle of a timeless forest locked in own world where nothing could touch us.

When we finally broke apart his face held a smile that was so dazzling that it could have contended with the sun.

"Isabella Swan, I believe you have just made me the happiest man alive," he breathed into my hair, holding me close.

"Likewise," I exhaled not trusting myself with too many words at the moment, for my head was still spinning.

**EPOV**

This time I had not planned where to take her, I had simply wondered the forest until I could find the courage to say what needed to be said. I felt like time was always slipping from me with her, a feeling, that had for some reason, recently increased ten-fold. When I finally rediscovered the ability to speak, I knew what I had to say. What I had not expected was her reaction.

The instant Bella said the words that I never thought I would hear from her, I was literally flying. So much better than Alice's vague vision, was the very real woman of my dreams standing in front of me telling me that she loved me. In that moment, the world melted as waves of pure joy crashed over me.

Eventually, we had assumed a more relaxed position, with me sitting against the base of a large tree with Bella leaning into my chest. I played with her hair as the conversation ventured into a lighter territory, well lighter than confessing ourselves at least.

"So why is Tanya so... friendly," inquired Bella, who seemed embarrassed for asking.

I frowned, deciding against telling her the whole story, due to the fact that I had seen her reaction when I spoke of Tanya before. And it was not as if Tanya were a threat to Bella in any shape or form, so I settled with telling her, "that is just the way she is. Really, she is a good person, once you get to know her. Her family and ours have been friends for over fifty years, you could even call them our extended family, of sorts."

She nodded, seeming to ponder my words. Just then, my cell phone vibrated again in my pocket for what had to be the tenth time in the last hour.

"You should probably answer that," Bella said softly.

I groaned, dreading the moment when I would be forced to go back to reality. Half of me expected this to be some type of elaborate dream, the only problem with this theory was the fact that vampires could not sleep. It was only with this assurance that I pulled out the small phone to look at the caller I.D.

"It's Alice," I said, stuffing the phone back in my pocket, deciding it was time to head back to the house. Once the decision was made, the phone stopped ringing. I was a little more than slightly annoyed that she could not see that I was busy at the moment. However, I reasoned, it might be truly important and if that was the case I would rather hear what ever it was directly from Alice, where I could read her thoughts, then over the phone.

"We should probably go," I muttered in Bella's ear and with a sigh she got up. It felt wrong not to be holding at least some part of her, however I refrained from scoping her into my arms again, not wanting to seem too greedy. After all, she might not feel the like a part of herself was ripped apart when I moved away from her.

Instead I settled on a different course of action. "I'll race you," I said, always excited at the prospect of speed in any form, before taking off, not waiting for her response. And then the world was a blur of color as I flew with an angel at my side. Stars twinkled above, giving off a soft light, that we did not need as we navigated our way through the darkened forest. It was bliss just to have a release for the joy that had been pent up inside me ever since Bella confirmed her feelings for me. I laughed out loud, feeling freer in that moment than I had in a long time.

However, as we drew closer to the house, I began to hear the thoughts of its occupants, in which the word Volturi was particularly predominate. At this discovery, my laughter died on my lips and I pressed for more speed, wondering what on earth the Italian clan could have to do with my family.

Everyone's thoughts quieted as they heard us emerging from the trees. I stopped at the porch waiting for Bella and again the feeling that I only had so much time with her washed over me. It was not logical, but I could not help imagining that each second that past brought closer a moment when she and I would be separated. When she finally made it to the porch I wordlessly wrapped my arms around her, burying my face in her hair, willing with all my being for her to stay there forever.

"Is it that bad," she asked, looking up at me, her eyes full of questions.

"It looks like we are about to find out," I answered in a flat voice, suddenly afraid to go in. However, I could not put it off for forever and the sooner I knew, the sooner we could begin working on a plan to stop whatever was about to happen. With that thought, I drew a breath and went in the house, my arm still holding Bella firmly to my side.

I was surprised to find my family convened around the dining table, waiting for us to take our seats. When we did, Alice let me view her latest vision. Far away, in a large, stone room three vampires, who I knew to be Marcus, Caius, and Aro from the paintings in Carlisle's office, were talking about how they should approach Bella. They had just settled on sending a representative to bring her to Volterra, when the vision went blank.

"How do they know of her," I hissed. How could this be happening? My previous description of Bella being a danger magnet seemed to fit nicely in this scenario.

"You know I can't see the reason behind decisions, only the results of them," Alice shot back.

"What's going on," Bella asked.

Alice described her vision in detail to her, while I processed what this meant. Bella looked completely confused, since she did not either know who the Volturi were or what kind of power they held in this world that she had recently joined. However, her questions would have to be answered later.

When Alice had finished I asked, "What can be done?"

"I don't know," Alice answered, exasperated, " there is too much yet to be decided."

"Carlisle, you once lived with them, what do you think will happen," I asked, almost afraid of the answer.

He seemed to consider the question before answering, "to be frank, Edward, the Volturi prize extraordinary powers above all else, particularly Aro. In his guards, he keeps a collection, of sorts, and he will be greatly intrigued by what Bella can do. However, that is not our only concern in this matter, for you, Alice, and even Jasper also both posses gifts that would peak Aro's interest if he were to find out about you. However, I do not believe that the Volturi would force you to join."

"No, that would be against their own rules," said Jasper, confident that the royalty of our world would not hurt our family on the condition that we did nothing to offend them.

"I don't think this is that big of an issue," stated Rosalie, "they will offer Bella a position. She will decline and they will leave."

"And if they don't," growled Emmett, "we can take care of them."

"No," cut in Carlisle, "we will _no_t insult the Volturi. Whatever happens, we will approach this situation in a diplomatic manner."

Alice lapsed into another silence, as I watched as shadowy, cloaked figures met our family in the front of our house. The only thing in the vision that seemed unclear was the identities of the representatives.

"Well, we won't have to speculate for long," Alice said, in a serious tone, "they will arrive by the end of the week."

**Don't forget to review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter, I always enjoy reading all of them! Oh and one reviewer caught the quote from the movie trailer from last chapter, which was a last moment addition. Enjoy the next chapter.**

**BPOV**

Nearly everything had been intensified on my transformation into a vampire and it appeared that my bad luck had followed suit. That had to be the only explanation for a powerful clan in Italy to randomly decide to come after me just after I had finally settled into my new life.

It was now less than a day until we would be faced with the appearance of the representatives and the tension in the house was palpable. According to Alice's visions, these vampires would be arriving tonight to issue me an 'invitation' to Italy. Alice, however, could not see anything beyond that, due to the fact that the Volturi apparently did not know I was currently residing with the Cullens. In her visions, they seemed to only know where I was in Alaska, but beyond that they were oblivious. The rest of the future was now currently enveloped in a thick haze, for there were too many paths that could be taken for her to get a clear view beyond the next eight hours.

On top of this concern, the Cullens were also troubled with how the Volturi could know about any of this information in the first place, not liking the idea that the eyes of Italy could extend half way across the globe.

Snow was gently falling in the grey morning sunlight and the house was deadly quiet, like the calm before a storm, as everyone was either out or otherwise occupied in preparation for tonight. Edward and I were spread across a sofa in the living room, trying to relax. He was feigning sleep at the moment, while humming the song he had played for me under his breath, as I snuggled into his chest dreading what was to come. Carlisle had assured me that at worst we would go to Italy, where I would formally decline the Volturi's offer and Edward had assured me over and over that this was really nothing to be that worried about. Yet, I did not like the way that the Cullens had described this coven and I feared that they would not handle rejection well. Also, all of the Cullens seemed far too tense for a matter of such little importance. I clutched the fabric of Edward's shirt as I realized that, despite the Cullens assurances, there was a very real possibility that I would be ripped from my new home at the conclusion of the day.

My musings were broken, however when a knock resounded on the large oak door, causing both mine and Edward's heads to snap up in apprehension. '_Oh no_,' I thought to myself, as pure terror coursed through me, '_they're early_.'

"Its Tanya," echoed Alice's voice, from somewhere upstairs, causing me to exhale in relief. I made to open the door, but Edward beat me to it, so I reclaimed my seat and waited for our guest to make her appearance.

I heard Tanya and Edward exchange hello's, followed by a silence, in which I assumed Tanya was communicating in her thoughts with Edward. When they came into the room Edward said, with his eyes slightly tense, "it appears Tanya is here to see you." As I looked up at Edward in confusion, he came over to take a seat by me entwining my hand with his and squeezing gently, as if to reassure me.

Tanya sent me a magnificent smile, before gracefully lowering herself into a chair that was directly across from me and saying, "why hello, Bella. It's so lovely to see you again."

"Hello," I replied in an hesitant voice, while a million questions ran through my mind.

"I just was in the area and was wondering if you would be up for a hunt," she questioned, in a bubbly voice.

"I'm not sure if that is a good idea Tanya, as we are experiencing a bit of a situation right now. It seems the Volturi will be paying us a visit in the very near future," responded Edward, in my stead.

Tanya looked genuinely shocked at this piece of information before replying, "but why?"

"They have somehow found out about Bella and taken an interest in her. We are expecting them to arrive in a matter of hours," Edward stated, his voice grave.

"That's terrible," Tanya muttered, however she quickly seemed to recover, as the next words out of her mouth were, "well, there is still time before they come, in which Bella and me could go on our hunt. When is the last time she went anyway, her eyes are almost pitch black." As a newborn, my hunger grew much more quickly than a mature vampire's, almost annoyingly so. However, in the wake of the upcoming confrontation, I had not wanted to bother anyone by asking to go on a hunt, as they all seemed so tense. Since the night that Alice had had her vision, it seemed that the fire in the back of my throat was increasing at the same pace as my anxiety, which of course meant that my eyes probably were devoid of color at this point.

On top of the incentive to fulfill this basic need without troubling the others, I did not want to offend Tanya by declining, who I was now practically related to. The only problem with this plan was the fact that I was planning on spending these last few hours with Edward. The past couple of days had been absolute bliss, to the point where I now found it literally painful to be away from him. However, I reasoned, it was not as if we would not have an infinite amount of time ahead of us after we sorted out our current situation. So I finally replied, after biting my lip, "sure, I would love to go with you, Tanya."

"I'll come too," Edward said, brushing a stray hair behind my ear, while smiling in my direction.

Tanya pouted a little before saying, "I was planning on it just being Bella and I. After all, I have hardly had a chance to speak with her."

"All right, Tanya," responded Edward, mistrust coating his eyes and his tone and his smile vanishing as he turned to face her. I was confused as to the reason that Edward was behaving this way when he had informed me just the other day that Tanya was a good person, but I let it drop. Maybe he was just nervous about what the night would bring and was simply taking it out on Tanya.

"Okay, come on, Bella," Tanya said, happily, reaching for my hand. Edward quickly placed a kiss on my cheek, before muttering in my ear, "be safe, love." I nodded, while tingles made their way thorough my body. I still had not gotten used to the fact that this wonderful person somehow loved me. I treasured every moment, for I constantly felt as if I was in a fairy tale where the magic would run out eventually. One day, I feared he would come to his senses and leave, however until that day came I would remain to enjoy every moment of his company. I looked back at Edward as I was rushed through the door, to find him sitting still as a statue, his face pensive as if trying to discover the answer to a difficult problem. I smiled in his direction and was then unceremoniously pushed through the door and into the snow.

**Tanya's POV**

It had been difficult to lie convincingly to Edward, due to the fact that I had to keep more than my face and tone of voice in check in order to deceive him. However, it had been far more painful to watch the intimacy that had blossomed over the last few days between the child and Edward. It was there that I almost snapped, but I held the facade reminding myself that this was only a temporary circumstance.

It had surprised me to discover that the Volturi were responding so quickly to my tip, but I cannot deny that I was not glad for this favorable turn of events. The sooner they came, the quicker the girl would be out of my life forever.

We had quickly finished our hunt and were now walking slowly back to the Cullen's mansion. Bella looked uncomfortable with the speed, due to the fact that she was almost twitching in an effort to restrain herself from shooting forward. '_Probably eager to get back to Edward_,' I thought, bitterly.

However, I could not let her leave just yet, for this was my chance to sow the first seeds of friendship, which might prove useful in the coming days. "So Bella," I said, trying my hardest to keep my tone light and my eyes concerned, "how are you adjusting?"

She appeared to be as shocked by my effort to make conversation as she was to discover that I had come to see her. After a minute she replied, "I'm doing okay. It was hard at first, but it recently has gotten better."

"I remember when I was first turned," I said, trying to keep the conversation going, "it is definitely not an easy thing to bear."

"No, it is not," she mumbled, her eyes tensing at some memory that I knew she would not share with me. In the next moment, however the painful expression was gone and in its place was a look of true consideration as she asked, "if you don't mind me asking... how were you changed, anyway?"

Her sincerity as she said these words almost knocked me off my feet. It was odd, but for a moment I forgot all my plans and schemes as I ventured back to a time when I was too young and vulnerable.

"I was born in Constantinople around 1400," I whispered unthinkingly, "It was a time when it was under the control of the Ottoman Empire. My parents had died when I was very young leaving me penniless and without a guardian. Soon, I was consequently sold into slavery and eventually, I ended up in a harem of a local aristocrat." I cringed internally as I remembered the vague images of my human life, where I had been forced into a playhouse of rich men. It was this abuse of men that made me gain my title as one of the three succubus sisters. Though men had once held power over me in my human life, in my after life I held the power. With my change brought the new determination to never again find myself in an inferior position of any kind. I knew this about myself, although I would never admit it to anyone, so I skipped over the obscenities that I had endured and moved directly to the time of my change. "One night, when I was walking through the gardens, I came upon a woman of unbelievable beauty. I assumed she was the latest toy of my owner, as I had never seen her among the other women. She told me that she could give me a gift that would allow me to leave this place and time all together. Stupidly, I agreed, eager to grasp at any chance of escape, which despite the fabulous tales that exist now, in those days was only a fools dream. Before I could blink she had sank her teeth into my wrist and there was nothing but the fire."

"When I woke up, I was in the back allies of the city, completely alone. I wondered Europe for over fifty years before I met Kate and Irina. Later, when we crossed over to America, Carmen and Eleazar joined our family and the rest is history." I glanced over in Bella's direction as she digested my story with a look of horror on her face as she tried to imagine as the events of my life and my death. This girl, however, would never fully understand, for I could tell just by looking at her that she had never gone a day without some sort of protection. She was unfamiliar and untainted with some of the harsher realities of this world.

I knew this would change when she joined the mighty clan in Italy, for ultimately she would adhere to their customs. With every life she stole, she would slip deeper into depression until she became lacking in any type of conscious. She would fall into the ranks of wraiths that claimed superiority in our world, her eyes glistening red from beneath a grey cloak. The ghostly image played in front of my eyes and for the first time since I considered calling the Volturi, I felt a slight twinge of guilt. But all it took was the image in my head of Edward and I spending eternity together to justify my hesitation of corrupting this innocent girl beside me.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice intruding on my thoughts, "no one should have to go through what you experienced."

I sighed and replied, "what happened, happened. It is over now, time to move on." 'Yes,' I internally thought, 'I should look toward the future, not the past.' It was ridiculous to worry about what I had to do in order to get there. My ultimate happiness was within my grasp and all I needed to do at this point was to keep my eyes on the very handsome prize.

And in order to get that prize I should be working on gaining her trust, not spilling my murky past to this girl whom I despised above all others. It appeared I was becoming sentimental in my old age, however, determined not to let today be a complete waste, so I decided to work her sympathy to my advantage. As we crossed the distance of the yard I said in a sickly sweet voice, "you know, Bella, if you ever need to talk about anything, anything at all, don't be afraid to come to me."

The idiotic child took in my words with a smile and mumbled, "I will. Oh, and Tanya, thank you, for today, I mean."

I was about to turn and leave, trying not to smile that my plan was unfolding so easily and not wanting to be here when the Volturi made their appearance. However it seemed that I was too late. For as Edward and the rest of the Cullens came out of the house to present a united front, three black cloaked figures materialized from the surrounding trees. With a resigned sigh, I went over to join the Cullens, who were now standing in a semi-circle in front of the porch.

I watched jealously as Edward wrapped his arms securely around Bella, as if he would never let go. I could only hope that in a matter of weeks, after he had time to get over his grief of the loss of the child, I would be standing in that same spot.

A sly voice that issued from the shortest of the visitors broke through my daydreams, "Well, well, this is a surprise. We came here prepared to collect a lone newborn and find her instead surrounded by a large coven."

Carlisle was stiff as he said, "welcome, Jane, Demetri, and Felix. Why don't you come inside, as you probably have had a long journey. We can talk in a more comfortable setting and you will be able to tell us what has prompted the pleasure of your visit."

"Thank you Carlisle, but we must decline," said a small girl who looked like a Botticelli angel, "after all, this is not a social call and we have business to attend to."

**Don't forget to review!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Thank you so much to all of you who took the time to review the last chapter!**

**A/N: One reviewer asked two really good questions. As far as why Edward is not catching on to Tanya's thoughts, that will hopefully be explained in this chapter.**

**The other question was why Alice is not seeing Tanya's planning. In Twilight, Alice, herself mentions that her gift is not an exact science and it is possible for her to miss things; therefore I think it would be plausible for her to miss Tanya calling the Volturi. Especially since Alice would not be watching Tanya's future, as no one suspects her. All of Tanya's other plans so far would only happen if Bella were to leave and are only fantasies at this point, not decisions. I hope this cleared that up, but if you still have questions or this makes absolutely no sense, don't hesitate to ask/tell me.**

**EPOV**

From the moment Tanya walked in the door, I had become increasingly suspicious. The first action that sent up a red flag was the fact that Tanya was here to see Bella, who had only a few days ago been the source of her jealous musings. Also throughout her visit, Tanya's thoughts were very controlled, which lead me to believe that they could only be artificial. It was almost as if there were a jagged edge to her entire thought process. I knew I was missing something, something vitally important, but no matter how hard I tried to pry, Tanya's mind remained fixed on the conversation.

It significantly added to my unease when Tanya insisted Bella go on a hunt with her, alone. As much as I wanted to prevent Bella from going, I knew that at this point it would be irrational. After all, all I had to go on were suspicions of some unknown deceit, which may or may not exist. So I let Tanya drag Bella away, leaving me to think about Tanya's unexplainable actions.

Something was off; her odd behavior the other day and her strange actions today were enough to pay testament to this theory. However no matter how vigorously I racked my brain, I could not figure out what that something was. The hours dragged by as I thought in my solitude, when the rest of the family finally came down to wait in the living room, informing me silently that the Volturi's visit was only minutes away.

"Where are they," asked Esme, glancing to a clock on the mantel, "I mean, really, how long does it take to hunt."

Panic was also starting to consume me, as I began to image scenarios of the Volturi cornering Bella in the woods and being stolen from me forever, while Tanya sat by doing nothing, with a smile on her face. As soon as the image was formed in my mind, I mentally admonished myself for thinking of Tanya that way. True, she might be a little staggered by the discovery of Bella, but she would never be _that_ cruel.

"They will be here in a few minutes," Alice replied, "don't worry. They get here before our guests."

Carlisle took a brief moment to interject a thought, "speaking of our guests, let me make it clear that there will be no signs of aggression when they get here. We will be welcoming and civil, no matter what happens." He set pointed glares at Emmett and I.

"What if they attack us first," Emmett questioned, almost hopefully.

"No one is going to attack us," said Jasper, confidentially.

"Alice do you see anything," Esme questioned, in a worried tone.

"As long as we make no signs of aggression," said Alice, rubbing her temples, while scanning her visions, "they have no plans, at the moment, to use violence. But then, they also think that Bella is alone and I cannot see how they will react when they find her with all of us. It's too clouded." She muttered the last part to herself, ashamed that she could not see more.

"Great, so we are going in blindly," snarled Rosalie, "this just gets better and better."

"Bella and Tanya are here," piped Alice, "and the Volturi will arrive about thirty seconds behind them, so I suggest we go now."

As I heard their voices and Tanya's thoughts draw closer, I quickly made my way through the door, in order to see with my own eyes that Bella was still safe. My family had followed me behind me, as I wrapped my arms around Bella's tiny waist, wishing more than anything that I could simply take her and run to a place where the constant threats that seemed to plague her life could not touch us.

But as three vampires appeared from beyond the tree line, I realized that this was impossible. I tightened my hold on Bella, as if simple will power could meld her to my side forever.

I listened to the shock play in all of the Volturi's minds as they stared at the coven of nine vampires amassed before them. From their thoughts, I also discovered the names of these unknown vampires. The little one, called Jane and Carlisle exchanged greetings quickly before moving on to more important topics.

"Aro set us here to collect that newborn and bring her to Volterra," Jane said, pointing to Bella. She had not expected this type of complication, however her mind betrayed no fear. Her thoughts strayed briefly to her gift, without mentioning specifically what it was, and her belief that if necessary they would easily be able to use force to overcome us.

"Why has your masters set you half way across the world for Bella," Carlisle asked, playing dumb.

"We are not here to explain ourselves to you, we are here to take the child. It would be in your best interest to release her immediately," Jane finished, with a hint of menace in her voice. The vampire behind her, Felix, flexed his muscles threateningly and Emmett growled in response.

Carlisle shot Emmett a warning look, before answering, "Bella appreciates your invitation, but will have to decline to accompany you today."

Jane raised an eyebrow, before asking, "does she not possess a voice?"

Carlisle turned to Bella, signaling her to speak. "I'm sorry, but I would like to stay here for the time being," said Bella, her voice showing no sign of fear.

"Ahh, how can I phrase this? We were sent to bring you to Volterra. When you get there you can accept or reject whatever you feel is necessary," explained Jane, her voice betraying her growing impatience.

"Again, my getting on a plane with you is not going to change my mind, I assure you," said Bella, her voice laced with anger.

"This is not an invitation. Consider it something more akin to a summoning." said a calm voice, issuing from the third vampire, Demetri.

At that moment, I had to literally fight with my muscles to not sink down into an instinctive crouch. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Emmett struggling similarly beside Rosalie.

Bella was about to retort, but I squeezed her hand in caution. Carlisle took this opportunity to speak, "well in that case, who are we to decline such a generous offer. It appears we will be going with you to Volterra."

"Excuse me," said Jane, sweetly, "_we_? The Volturi only instructed us to deliver the newborn, no one else."

"It is either all of us or none of us. If you are going to be inflexible, we shall be as well," said Carlisle firmly.

Jane opened her mouth to vehemently reject our proposal. In her mind, she was outraged that such a simple assignment was taking so much effort. Again, she contemplated the use of her power to speed things up, however Demetri put a restraining hand on her shoulder and said, "fine. We will need to contact Volterra this evening to tell them that the child is not alone before we depart, anyway. I will tell them of your request, however we make no guarantees. We will be back before the sun rises to collect the Bella."

Carlisle nodded, as a sign of acceptance, however in his mind he assured me that we would be no means allow them to take Bella to Volterra alone.

"It looks like we will be seeing you in the morning," snapped Jane, sending a glare at all of us, before leaving with her other two companions. We all went into our home in a stunned silence, as we prepared to discuss our next course of action.

**BPOV**

The hours of the night seemed to be rapidly slipping away as the Cullens endlessly discussed what was to be done. My greatest fear was that the rest of the Cullens would be left behind as I was dragged, against my will to a foreign city.

Carlisle had just finished going over all the names and powers of the various members of the Volturi that he had encountered during his stay with them and now the topic had turned to who exactly was going to join me in Italy.

"It is not necessary for all of us to go to Volterra," started Carlisle.

"We are not letting her go alone," growled Edward beside me.

Carlisle sighed and said, ",no one here is suggesting that she go alone, Edward. I merely think that it would be prudent if some of us were to stay behind."

"Wouldn't it be better to if we all went to show our unity," questioned Esme.

"No, they may take it as a challenge if we all go, which honestly, we would be no match to them in a fight anyway. It would be far better if only a select few us leave with Bella."

"So who goes," questioned Rosalie, "and who stays."

I felt terrible, for I was the reason behind all of this. And now I was breaking up the Cullens. I briefly considered just giving myself to the Volturi, just to rid the Cullens of my ever-constant bad luck, but the thought of losing Edward and my new family was too difficult to bear. I was a terrible person to put my own selfish needs above those of my families.

"Obviously, I should go, as Aro and I are old friends," said Carlisle, rubbing his chin as he considered his options, "and honestly, Edward, it would be wise if you stayed here due to the interest your power will generate." At these words Edward snarled, which made Carlisle say, apologetically, "but of course I would never expect you to do that, so of course you will come with us. However Alice, as useful as your power would be in this situation, I do not think you should come. Aro will find out about you anyway, through the use of his power, and it would be better if you were out of his reach for the time being." She nodded, seeing the wisdom in his words. "As for the rest of you, it is your decision as to what you do," finished Carlisle.

"I'm staying here," said Rosalie, without a second thought.

"I'll come," said Esme, in a quiet voice. Carlisle however said quickly, "Esme, I would prefer it if you would stay here and keep an eye on Alice. That way you can contact me if she sees anything important." Everyone could see the lie and that Carlisle wanted Esme to stay for her safety. Again, I was visited by a swift stab of guilt.

"Fine," she said, raising her eyebrows skeptically, "but you have to promise to be careful and come home safely."

Carlisle grinned at her sheepishly and Emmett's voice boomed, "well, there's no way in hell I'm staying behind!"

"I think I should go to," stated Jasper, "just in case."

I was shocked that the person that had adamantly scorned the idea that the Volturi could do anything dishonorable was now suggesting that he should come with us for protection.

"I'll go too," said a silkily voice from behind me. I turned to discover was none other than Tanya, who had not left, "I've always wanted to see the city and Bella might need some, ah, female support while she is there."

Edward, for some reason, stiffened and eyed her the same way he had this morning, with a deep mistrust. However Carlisle said, "thank you, Tanya, that is a very generous offer. Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," she said, "however I want to make it clear, I will not go to meet the actual Volturi."

Just then, Alice suddenly startled us by saying, "they will be here in about fifteen minutes."

'_Oh, no_,' I thought to myself, '_this is i_t.'

**EPOV**

After Alice had announced the Volturi's immediate arrival, I made the decision to talk to Alice about keeping an eye on Tanya's future. I was already suspicious about her misleading thoughts, but her sudden desire to join us in Volterra sent me over the edge.

Alice, of course , saw this conversation in the future and asked me in her thoughts, '_do you think she has something to do with this_?'

I minutely shrugged my shoulders and then she replied, '_alright, I'll keep an eye on her. Don't worry_.'

I smiled at her and Carlisle went to speak with Jane, Demetri, and Felix, who had just appeared outside our front door.

They had a hushed conversation and Carlisle came back into the room to inform us that the Volturi had approved of our accompanying Bella.

We all got up to leave when Alice squealed, "wait!" She then dashed up stairs and came down carrying six small black bags.

"Sorry, Tanya" she said, "but you will have to borrow some of Rosalie's clothes."

"How," I asked, before shaking my head. After all, one should never underestimate Alice.

Everyone in the room exchanged a farewell with their mates, while Tanya, Bella, and I waited on the front porch with Jane, Felix, and Demetri. When the rest of our party finally emerged Emmett clapped his hand on my back and said with fake enthusiasm, "alright, it looks like we are off to Italy."

**Don't forget to review!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**As always, thank you so much to those of you who reviewed! **

**BPOV**

We made our way quickly through the darkened wilderness of Alaska, as the early hours of the morning were slowly drawing to a close. I wondered how on earth I was going to make it through an airport, seeing as I had not been in contact with a human since the last disastrous incident. Of course, I realized with relief that this would not be a problem as we arrived at a small private jet that was resting on what appeared to be an abandoned landing strip. You would think by now I would be used to the excess wealth that vampires in general seemed to have, however it never ceased to amaze me.

Terror gained an ever tighter grasp on me with every step I closed between the airplane and myself, making me doubt my ability to command my legs to move over the threshold of the carrier. However, Edward's arms were wrapped securely around me, reminding me that I was not doing this alone. Reminding me that this was the obstacle that I would have to face in order to secure my forever.

Demetri made his way to the cockpit as the rest of us took our seats, where we remained silent for the length of the ride. I leaned my head into Edward's shoulder and closed my eyes, pretending that we were alone in Edward's room with no other worries than what we were to do that day. Sensing my tension, Edward began to rub comforting circles on my back and placed his head on mine. The moment would have been unendurably sweet, if not for the presence of our current audience. By the time I could see the first signs of Volterra rising from the skyline night had again fallen, as the plane began its decent toward a small runway a few miles outside of the ancient city.

Carlisle was the first to break the absurdly long silence as we were exiting the craft, "I don't know which way you were planning on taking us, but we can't go anywhere near humans at the moment. You see, Bella still hasn't learned the necessary control."

"Ah yes, we wouldn't want their to be any accidents, now would we," sneered Jane.

Demetri intervened by saying, "don't worry, we can use the North entrance. After all, there are always back ways into Volterra."

As the city loomed ever closer, the delicious smell grew more intense. For a moment, all I could think of was that we were mere yards away from such a concentrated area of humans, who were peacefully sleeping in their beds. All that would be necessary to quench my thirst would be for me to climb over a window sill and noiselessly creep over to a bed side and...

Someone cleared their throat, breaking my macabre daydreams. I snapped my head around to find all of Cullens tensed, as if waiting for me to spring. Edward's hand had now become restraining, as I battled every inch of my being not to give into base senses. Just when I thought I was about to lose total control, outside the walls of the metropolis, Jane led us to the entrance an undetectable underground passage.

"I'll just wait here," said Tanya, as she looked fearfully down the channel that seem to go on endlessly, even with the assistance of enhanced eyesight.

Jane looked at her suspiciously and said, "I believe your hosts would feel more comfortable if you were to go to the villas that they have provided for your stay. They too, are outside the city. Demetri will take you."

"Thank you," said Tanya with a smile towards our group, "and good luck." I noticed her eyes lingered on me a moment longer than everyone else, as she watched us file into the musty passage.

I smiled at her briefly, thinking that she was probably concerned, before following the others. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her and Demetri disappear behind the numerous trees.

The tunnel snaked its way through the bowels of the town, but even the now faint smell of humans was enough to cause my throat to sear and venom to pool. Finally we reached an elaborate waiting room, which due to the early hour, was completely emptied. I could not describe how thankful I was that the thick walls finally seem to grant me so peace from the smell. But as the monster retreated, I was now able to again focus on the situation that I had somehow gotten my new family into.

"I'll announce your presence," said Jane, before sweeping off through a door that looked as if it led to a labyrinth of passages and hallways. Felix remained with us, standing in the corner and glaring at us all menacingly, as if daring us to attack or run. I was practically shaking in fear at this point as I looked around at the faces of my family, wondering the extent of the damage that I was about to cause. Emmett and Jasper looked as if they were having trouble not responding to Felix's unspoken challenge, however they remained in their civilized stances, not wanting to disappoint Carlisle. Carlisle, who of course betrayed outward signs of apprehension, looked as if he had come here on his own accord to visit with old friends. Edwards was the last face that I examined, which was passively blank. The only sign of stress that he betrayed was a slight tightening of his jaw every now and then in response to, what I could only imagine, were the thoughts of the vampires lodged in this building. I placed my hand on his and looked into to his eyes, hoping to convey how deeply sorry I was about being the cause of all of this chaos.

However, I was unsure if he received my message, for the next moment Jane reappeared and said with a smirk on her face and announced, "they're ready. Follow me."

**EPOV**

After making our way down a harsh stone hall, we were ushered into a replica of a throne room that seemed strait out of the middle ages. Three magnificent, glided thrones were placed on the far side of the room and held the three ancient vampires that I had seen in Carlisle's paintings, all clothed in pure black robes. In a mockery of a human court, at least twenty vampires in various hues of grey, fanned out around their leaders and watched our procession into the vast chamber, as Jane and Felix went to take their places among them. It was ironic that this clan seemed to draw their ideals of royalty from a species, which they thought was in everyway beneath them.

From the middle throne, arose Aro, who glided forward to meet Carlisle with extreme vigor, while the other two vampires observed from the two flanking chairs. Caius was currently fuming over the fact that Aro had allowed us to accompany Bella and Marcus was just bored.

"Carlisle," sang Aro, his musical voice resounding off the stone walls, "it has really been far too long. And it is so kind of you to bring your entire family!"

"Hello, old friend," said Carlisle, with a look of peace plastered on his face, "I agree with you, it has been too long. Thank you for inviting my family and I. These are my sons, Emmett, Jasper, and Edward, and this is one of my daughters, Bella. My other two daughters and my wife were, unfortunately unable to come."

Aro's interest was peaked when he discovered that there were eight vampires total now in Carlisle's coven, for in his mind, he saw us as a potential threat. However, his tone betrayed none of his internal conflict as he said, "What a shame, however it's I am immensely pleased to meet all of you! I hope you are all planning on an extended stay so that you may sample the delights of Volterra."

"Actually, we were hoping on a short visit," replied Carlisle, "seeing as we all have loved ones at home that we are eager to return to as soon as possible."

"Naturally, naturally," said Aro, displeased to discover this information. "Well, if that is the case, then I believe the time has come to catch up. May I?"

"Of course," responded Carlisle, dryly, holding out his palm.

Aro moved toward Carlisle, with his hand extended and a smile growing on his face in anticipation of the retention of undiscovered secrets. Aro was truly curious as to how Carlisle could have survived so long on his unusual diet and how he had convinced so many of our kind to go against their nature. The second Aro's decrypt skin hit the smooth flesh, memories began to surge through Carlisle's mind, far too fast for me to catch even half of it. Unknown voices and strange places filled my head to capacity. Later, brief images of my family swam before my eyes, until finally Bella's pained face came into view. "_How long since she was bitten_," asked a calm Carlisle to a frantic Alice, before the scene changed to accommodate more recent events. Suddenly it all stopped and Aro calmly returned to his seat by his brothers, considering the all that he had just witnessed.

"So interesting," he muttered, "so very interesting! It seems you have been very busy Carlisle. And what a talented family you have, its almost as if you have amassed a little collection of your own."

"Yes," stated Carlisle, keeping his face composed as Aro moved on to this dangerous topic, "some of our number have been blessed with extraordinary gifts. However, I would never dream of comparing them to the wonders that you house here in Volterra."

"Now you are being modest! I, myself would be eager to play with both of your sons interesting powers," said Aro, eyeing Jasper and I like a piece of candy, "and I would particularly love to meet your lovely daughter, the fortune-teller, Alice."

"Fortune-teller," questioned Caius, his mistrust growing with every piece of information that was revealed about our family.

"One of his family can actually see the future," responded Aro, "isn't that wonderful." Caius's thoughts took in all the ramifications of having a rival coven possess insight to the future. Aro's mind, however, was now fixated on one goal, which was to discover the best way to collect us.

"And your newest addition, Bella, seems to have not even have touched the extent to which her gift could possibly stretch," said Aro, "I am actually quite surprised to find this young one with you, Carlisle, our informant gave us the impression that she was on her own."

"No, Bella has been with us since the beginning," replied Carlisle carefully. All of my family's minds were buzzing with the mention of an informant that Aro had let slip. I tried to catch the name of this illusive person, however Aro's mind did not linger.

"How strange," sighed Aro, "well, anyway, I do not want to seem as if I am disassembling your exquisite family Carlisle, however it would be remise of me not to offer such talent a spot in Volterra."

"By all means," stated Carlisle, "feel free to ask."

Aro, thus turned his attention on me and asked, "Edward, I have seen through your fathers thoughts the boundaries of your gift. If you want it, there is a place here for you."

"I'm afraid I will have to decline," I said, working my hardest to keep my tone light, so as not to insult them. If Carlisle could play their little charade than so could I.

"Ah, pity, but if you ever changer your mind, we would be honored to have you" responded Aro, moving on the his next candidate, "Jasper, I extend you the same offer."

"I too will have to say no," said Jasper.

"Emmett, your strength would also be a most welcome addition to the Volturi," stated Aro.

"I'm going to stick with Carlisle," Emmett growled, trying to restrain himself as much as possible.

Lastly, Aro turned his head in the direction of Bella, "Bella, we could show you how to handle your powers and help your transition into your new life. Will you join us?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't," said Bella, softly.

"Ah, what an unproductive night," sighed Aro, "but, no matter, no matter. I have the next few days to change your minds, but for now I will allow you to clean up and rest in your lodgings. I look forward to seeing you all in the morning." Aro was deeply offended that all of us had turned down his offer, but he was not about to break his own laws before almost thirty witnesses. I could see in his mind that he was already formulating a plan that wound induce at least one of us to stay, not only to gain another talent, but also to reduce the size of Carlisle's cove. I would have to speak with Carlisle to determine our next move.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Carlisle said in a conversational tone, "and we too look forward to seeing you again."

I sighed and hugged Bella close to me as we finally exited the tunnel and made our way to the secluded villas that the Volturi had supplied us with. When we entered the beautiful house, which was stationed far enough away from the city that the trees blocked it from view, I waited for Bella to disappear down the hall. Then I turned to Carlisle and whispered, "we have to talk. I don't believe that Aro will allow us to leave until he has convinced at least one of us to stay. He has not concrete plans yet, however his thought process revealed he was definitely less than thrilled at our refusal."

Carlisle nodded and said somberly, "I was afraid of this. I will speak to Jasper and Emmett about this. Are you going to tell Bella?"

"No," I whispered, "she already feels guilty enough."

I could tell Carlisle did not agree with my decision, however in his mind he resolved to speak to me about it later.

"I'm going to go check on her," I sighed, turning toward the room that she had disappeared into.

I found her sitting on a window seat staring off into the surrounding trees, as if hoping that they would give her the answers to her troubles. She had not even bothered to turn on the lights, giving the luxurious room an ominous tone.

"They are not just going to let us leave," she asked, still facing the opposite direction, "are they?"

'_Perspective_,' I thought, '_as always_.' But instead I replied, "you heard Aro, he will allow us leave in a few days."

"Yes he did," she whispered, finally turning in my direction, "but he was lying then, just as you are lying now." Her eyes delved into mine, looking for the answers to her many questions.

"I promise I will never let anything happen to you," I whispered wrapping my arms around her and inhaling her intoxicating scent, as I place my forehead onto hers.

Pain laced her eyes, as she considered her next words. Then she said, "I am the reason why we are here. I seem to be the catalyst for every tragic event that has taken place in your family since I came into your lives. It's not fair that you and your family should have to sacrifice so much for me." She backed away a little, as if trying to escape, but escape from what I did not know.

"Don't say that," I mumbled in her ear, refusing to let her go, "you've have done nothing but enhance my life in every possible way. I love you Bella. Don't ever forget that."

"I don't know," she muttered, "I think I need to take a walk to clear my head. Its all just too much to deal with right now."

"I'll come with you," I replied, stroking her cheek.

"I love you as well, Edward," sighed Bella, "but I just need to be alone right now. I promise I'll be back before you have time to miss me." She even worked up a smile, however it did not touch her eyes.

"Of course, love," I kissed her, while slipping my cell phone into her hand, "if you need anything, call." I did not like her going out by herself in her emotional state, especially in enemy territory, however, I knew better than anyone that sometimes you just needed to be alone for a moment to process your thoughts. And this would give me the perfect opportunity to speak with Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper about how we should best approach the situation at hand.

"I will," she mumbled, her eyes searching my face. She must have misinterpreted fear there, because she said, "you don't have to worry, Edward I will always come back to you."

"And I you," I replied, pleased that she did not see the real reason of my concern. With that she pulled away from me and quitted the room. Through the large window I watched her exit the building making her way down the manicured paths that gave way to the untamed woods. The moonlight bathed her figure as it rescinded into the night and I hoped against hope that in the coming days we would find a peace that had eluded us from the very beginning. I could see myself with Bella, years from now, surrounded by our family, all of us completely happy. I could see a time when our love would not have to be a constant struggle, but as easy as breathing. At that time, we would have started a life in some new town and maybe even be married. This was the first time that the thought had struck me, however nothing sounded more natural. I could practically hear Alice squealing all the way from Alaska, as I made up my mind, that when the time presented itself, I would ask her to have me. Yes, one day we would spend eternity by each others side. With a final glance in the direction that Bella had disappeared, I made my way into the other room to discover a way to secure this perfect dream of happiness.

No would notice until it was much to late that Tanya had disappeared without a trace.

**Don't forget to review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Unfortunately, I still do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Thank you to all of you who took the time to review! **

**BPOV **

As I made my way through the dank forest, I allowed my thoughts engulf me. It was my bad fortune that got us into this mess that now seemed to consume us. For no matter how much Edward tried to conceal the truth from me, I knew that we were in a far greater amount of trouble than he was letting on. In fact, Edward, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper were probably, right now, discussing the best way to fix what my inadequacies had brought, what Edward's mistake had brought.

I felt as though phantom tears were running down my cheeks, as I battled my way through the underbrush and dodged the many twisted trees. I soon lost track of direction and time all together, all the while trying to discover the hidden solution to all that had happened. There had to be some way out of this mess, however, if there were, it remained decidedly hidden from me.

Soon I ran across a familiar smell, which I discovered the source of after running a few more yards. Staring at me, with windswept strawberry blonde hair, a familiar vampire stared in awe in my direction.

"Tanya," I asked her, confusion weighing heavily on my voice, "what are you doing here?"

**Alice's POV**

The past twenty-four hours had brought nothing but stress, which was not helped by the distorted visions of the future that I was receiving. Some type of crossroads was coming and soon. It seemed their were only a few more decisions to be made before the blurry future that had been constantly teasing me for the past few days would be made concrete.

I had just had a vision that revealed to me the nature of the meeting of Volterra. In the living room, I quickly relayed this information to Rosalie and Esme, who were like me, eager for any news that revealed how matters were progressing in Italy. After they finished listening, we all returned to our nervous habits. Esme seemed to have waged a war on the house, with her weapons of choice being various cleaning solutions and a washcloth, while Rosalie played a few soft melodies on Edward's piano. A cell phone lay firmly planted on the coffee table, ready to be grabbed at a moments notice. After all, it was maddening to be stuck half a world away and rendered powerless to defend the ones we loved.

I went to my room unable to stand the tension issuing from downstairs any longer and made my way toward my massive closet, planning to occupy my mind with a little reorganization. However, acting on impulse and bypassing my collection of clothing, I went directly to the small corner that housed Jaspers belongs. Unthinkingly, I picked up one of his discarded shirts and let its smell envelope me, wishing with all my heart that he were here with me.

It was then that my surroundings disappeared and I was visited with the familiar feeling of displacement as my mind rushed ahead to show me events that had yet to occur. Somewhere in an unforeseeable time, Edward got down on one knee to ask Bella to marry him, hope and happiness written across his face. Before I could even let out a squeal of delight, this future vanished into the darkness of impossibility, as Edward and Bella's future shifted dramatically, taking on a much darker tone. Tanya was in a forest with Bella, chasing after her before the unthinkable happened, which triggered a chain of events that would destroy both my brother and new sister. The scene vanished as quickly as it had come and I realized that I was currently crumbled on the floor, still clutching on to Jaspers shirt, sobbing noiselessly.

'_No_,' I thought, '_this can't be happening_.' Tanya wouldn't do something like that, would she? It was then that Edward's suspicions came surging back into my head. I had to act quickly in order to warn my brother before disaster struck, which according to the vision was not very long. This line of thought brought me back to the present where I was sitting on my closet floor doing nothing, while Bella was in extreme danger.

As fast as inhumanly possible, I ran down stairs and snatched up the phone and began dialing Edward's number. I was met with Rosalie and Esme's curious stares, however now was not the time to answer their questions, not when I was already racing against time itself. With each ring I grew more aggravated, until finally the automated voice broke over the line informing me that the person I was trying to call was not answering.

"Damn it," I shouted, unthinkingly squeezing my hand until the worthless piece of metal resembled play-dough in my frustration, before discarding it on the floor. I told him to answer his phone if I called, what did he think I was calling for, to see what the weather was like in Italy?

"I need another phone," I said frantically, scanning the room for the desired electronic and watching as Rosalie disappeared in another room to retrieve her cell phone.

"It's all right, Alice," said Esme, trying to keep her voice light and soothing, "calm down and tell me what happened."

I tried to keep my tone controlled, as I said, "I will Esme, I promise. But we are running out of time and I need a phone!"

"Here," Rosalie said, after reappearing, holding Bella's salvation in her hand. I tried Jasper's number this time and was relieved when he answered on the first ring.

"Alice," he asked, "what's wrong?"

"It's Bella," I told him, "please Jasper, you have to hurry."

**Tanya's POV**

Demetri left in order to observe the meeting that was now occurring with the Cullens, leaving me to occupy myself for the next couple of hours. However, the house seemed too much like a prison, so I had decided to go for a run.

As the world transformed into a blur of color, I could not shake off the feelings that what I had done was wrong. I tried to escape the knowledge that right now Bella was probably being inducted into the Volturi due to my actions. And at this moment, Edward was most likely trudging home, broken hearted with the rest of his family, wondering how on earth such an event could have occurred.

'_No_,' I thought to myself, '_I will not allow myself to think like this_.' Not when, my prize was almost in my grasp. All I would have to do at this point was be patient and in a few months time, I would receive my reward. The thought made me smile, as I turned around in order to arrive at the villa in time to meet the disheartened Cullens when they returned.

However, as I was running, I caught the one scent that I never believed I would smell again. Confused, I stopped in my tracks in order to investigate, for it smelt like the child. But that was impossible; I had ensured that. Perhaps this was my guilty conscience conjuring up ways to play with my mind. However, minutes later my eyes confirmed what my brain would not believe as the girl appeared and questioned what I was doing.

"I… umm.. nothing," I choked, still stunned to see her standing before me. However now was not the time to lose control, not when it appeared my plans were crumbling right before my very eyes. So I asked calmly, in order to get the answers that I desperately craved, "how was the gathering?"

Her already forlorn face darkened at the mention of her recent meeting with the Volturi. "I don't know," she sighed, "they were very… cordial, however something was wrong. I know the others sensed it too."

"How are you still here," I blurted out, but on seeing the suspicion in her eyes at that question I added, "they must have seen your power and have been interested."

"Oh, they were," she replied, looking slightly mollified, "they offered all of us a spot on the guard, but we, of course, refused."

It had definitely never been my intention to dispose of any more of the Cullens than the child standing before me. I myself had witnessed what could occur when Aro's interest was peaked, which in short was nothing good. It appeared I had now brought the entire Volturi down upon the whole Cullen family in the interest of the girl's removal. There had to be a way to fix this appalling mistake and still achieve my ends, but how?

That's when I caught the very faint aroma that always caused venom to pool in my mouth and my muscles to seize, the scent that triggered my natural instinct. This sweet fragrance told me that we were not alone in the in this deserted pocket of Tuscany and in a matter of minutes this newly made vampire would catch wind of it too. I knew what I should do. I should turn around before she too caught the aroma and bring her back to the directly house, back to Edwards waiting arms.

However, I did not. Instead I said, "I'm terribly sorry, but there is nothing like a walk to clear one's head. Would you like to join me and tell me what happened?"

She seemed to consider the possibility for a moment, before agreeing. We continued to walk slowly in that direction, as I watching Bella's face intently, looking for some sign of recognition. She began her narrative of exactly what had occurred in the walls of Volterra, which she apparently blamed herself for.

"It's all my fault, Tanya," she whispered, her brow knitting together, "and I don't know what to do..." She suddenly jerked to a halt and her head snapped up in the direction of the perfume that I had caught several minutes ago. I watched as her eyes took on the animalistic quality that was buried deep within us all.

I heard her whisper, "_no_," under her breath, as she tried to fight the monster back. However, the struggle appeared to be in vain, for she took off in the direction of the odor in the next second. I tailed her, battling with myself on whether to restrain her or let her go through with this dastardly deed.

Part of me argued that I should throw myself within her path and do everything in my power to stop her. I, after all, was a vegetarian vampire, committed toward preserving human life. But the greater part of my brain urged me to let her go. I was so sick of everyone bending over to defend this girl and I did not want to be added to her already absurdly long list of protectors. '_After all_,' I thought, '_this might be the hidden solution to my problem and it was only one measly human_.' It seemed a small price to pay, if it was somehow the way to secure the happiness that was proving my harder to obtain than I had originally thought. Vaguely, I noticed a cell phone blaring in Bella's pocket, but she took no notice of it as she continued to pursue her prey at a breakneck pace.

I fell behind a few more feet, as the forest gave way to a large vineyard and in the middle of the infinite aisles of grapes sat a small farmhouse. Day was breaking over the horizon, causing both mine and Bella's skin to shine like beacons as we made our way ever closer to the quaint building, which only one heartbeat was issuing from at the moment.

Concealing myself behind a gigantic shed, I watched as Bella gracefully leapt up onto an elegant terrace that protruded from the front of the house and made her way through a set of French doors and a layer of shear curtains. I listened intently, trying to gauge some idea of what was going on inside the house. I did not have to wait for long, before I heard a gasp of surprise, which quickly transformed into pleas of mercy. But it was futile; for I knew that the demon that was currently inhabiting Bella's body would not relent until its thirst was quenched.

Breaking my resolve, I quickly entered the house in the same manner that Bella had gone, only to realize that I was too late. Before me, Bella sat drinking from a now motionless man, who could have been no more than twenty-five. I watched in shock as from Bella's cradling arms, his heart gave it final gallant beat before it was silenced forever more.

Suddenly, Bella stood up and, with a look of pure horror, dropped the corpse with a soft thud on the wooden floor. Her eyes did not break with the bodies, as she backed further and further away, until a wall halted her progress.

"Bella," I mumbled, as I watched pain consume her immortal face. She was trembling so hard that I was afraid she was in danger of internally combusting.

In the distance, I heard a car coming down the seldom-used dirt road that lead to the house, which was now the scene of a bloody murder.

"What did you do," I asked, in a daze. But again she said nothing; she only stared at the body whose soul she had just ripped away. Then she leapt from the room and vanished into the trees, to where, I did not know.

I took a last look at the glassy eyes of this man whose life had just begun, a life that I had permitted to be ceased right before my eyes. As I heard the car pull into the driveway, I fled the premises, not even thinking to hide the body. From the woods, I heard strangled screams of grief and pleas for retribution. I dropped to my knees on the forest floor and guilt crashed over me, as I whispered, "what have I done?"

**Don't forget to review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**I do not own Twilight or any of the characters. Thank you so much for all of your reviews for the last chapter.**

**EPOV**

The frustration in the room was palpable as Carlisle shot down yet another idea that would free us from this mess that we were currently in. The entire evening had been spent debating the best method that would allow all of our family to return to Alaska with no insult to the Volturi, however, no stroke of genius had graced any of us as of yet. Carlisle assured us that every method that we had come up so far with would either affront the Volturi or incite an all out conflict with them. A delicate early morning haze was clinging to the windows, informing us that the nights long hours were almost spent, and all that we had accomplished was to have the same flawed suggestions presented over and over again. We were all aggravated, without the faintest idea of how to proceed.

"Why don't we just leave," questioned Emmett, again, "we know were they keep their planes and its not like we don't know how to fly. I say we just hotwire one of their jets and be done with it."

"I understand that we all want to go home, but we cannot just disappear. Right now at least the Volturi are pretending to be amiable, however the moment we offend them we not only will be putting our lives in danger, but also the lives of our loved ones," said Carlisle, exasperated.

"So what? If they want a fight, I would be more than happy to give them one," Emmett growled.

"Emmett, you don't understand…," Carlisle began trying, yet again, to explain to Emmett the strength of this Italian clan, however Jasper's phone cut through the conversation with a blaring screech.

"Its Alice," Jasper said in a worried tone, before immediately answering. Everyone in the room tensed, afraid of what could have been so urgent to prompt Alice to call. From the thoughts that I was gathering around the room, I could tell that they shared my hope in that she had called with a fix to the seemingly unsolvable problem. Every word of the conversation was easily heard by all in the room, however the moment that Alice uttered Bella's name, I gestured quickly for Jasper to hand over the phone. In the next second, I was flying out the door and listening to Alice account of a recent vision, while I followed the trail that Bella's scent had left blazing through the forest. A part of me did not want to believe that such horrible events could take place, however, as the first of the suns rays sparkled off of my skin, I could only concentrate on the fact that Bella was currently in horrible danger.

"Where is she Alice," I yelled, conscious of the Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper following close behind me.

"I don't know," she replied, her frustration apparent in her voice, "all I see is a house on a large vineyard. Edward, you have to hurry. If you don't get there in time to hold her back, Bella…"

"Bella does what, Alice," I asked, still flying through the forest, however only silence met my ear. I glanced down at the phone in my hand, only to discover that the signal had died.

"No," I shouted, just as we reached the spot where Bella and Tanya's scents intertwined. 'Tanya will stop her,' I thought, trying to comfort myself, 'Alice said that she was with her.' I could not even consider the possibility that Tanya would do nothing, despite what Alice had just told me. After all, the future was not set in stone and Alice had been wrong before. Still something in the back of my head warned that I should do everything in my power to get to Bella as soon as possible, for I knew the all consuming guilt that came with the slaughter of a human life and it was something that I would not wish on my worst enemy. Something of that magnitude would destroy her.

I pushed my legs, still faster, pulling far ahead of my family members that had followed my mad dash from the house. Over the next few miles the smell of grapes was became more and more overpowering, notifying me that I was getting close. In the distance, I heard the faint rumble of thunder and noticed that thick, black clouds were forming overhead, blocking the sun completely from view.

Just as I was about to charge through the tree line and leap into the farm house from Alice's vision, I caught the source of one of the aromas that I had been tracking. Tanya was standing beneath the vast canopy of the forest with the first drops of rain landing cascading down her head. Anguish filled me as I observed the look of resolve that was plastered across her face, for I knew I was too late.

**Tanya's POV**

For the next few minutes, I remained completely motionless, allowing the shame for my actions to completely overtake me. I tried to remember what had been so important to make me act in such a way, but I could not recall. For nothing I could think of would justify the path of destruction that I had manage to carve in a matter of days.

Far in the distance, I heard the sound a group of vampires rapidly moving my way and I stood up, in order to compose myself. I would not allow myself to show any sign of the wild emotions that were currently raging out of control. Who ever these vampires were, I would not allow them to witness my weakness and vulnerability.

My stoic mask was firmly in place by the time that the first of my kind halted in front of me, and it did not shock me when I looked up to find Edward's topaz eyes staring back at me. I knew it was only a matter of time before I would have to face him anyway, and I was never one to procrastinate.

His voice was hoarse as he asked, with his eyes smoldering in concern, "Tanya, where is she? Where is Bella?"

By this time, Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper had joined us, and were watching me suspiciously.

"She's not with you," I questioned, my voice sounding weak to my own ears. I had been sure that Bella would return to the Cullen's for support after what she had just done. Briefly, I wondered where she could have vanished too before I was pulled back into the present.

"No," replied Edward in sorrow before saying, "Alice had a vision, Tanya, where Bella lost control and you did nothing. Please, tell me that her vision was false and that this is just a misinterpretation. Please tell me she is safe." His eyes looked tortured as he said the last sentence, making me fully realize how much he truly loved the child. For the first time, it occurred to me that their love was no mere whim, but as real as the connection that was shared between all of the mates that I had ever encountered. For the slightest piece of a second, I mourned the loss of the hope that had been the catalyst to everything that I had done since that fateful phone call to the Volturi. All I wanted to do was to flee this place and never look back, however if I was ever going to be able to begin forgive myself, or ask for forgiveness from the Cullens, I needed to do the unthinkable.

As the rain began to pick up in intensity, effectively soaking all present, I finally let all the images of the past few days soar to the fore-front of my mind. I knew that this was my only way to repent, so I let him see everything, to make him understand. I let him see my betrayal to the Volturi, the events that had occurred in-between, and, lastly, I let him witness the horrible events of this morning. The only thing I held back was the reasoning behind my discussions, not wanting to face that embarrassment on top of my guilt. I watched as a million different emotions flickered across his face, including fear, anger, dread, and betrayal. Beside him, Jasper winced on the onslaught of so many unexpected feelings, while Carlisle and Emmett studied my face carefully, as if they were trying to see into my mind as well.

When I finally finished with my recollections, Edward's eyes had taken on a flat, almost detached quality and his features had solidified into a hard mask that gave away nothing.

"It was you," he whispered, in a deadly, calm voice looking away from me in contemplation. The relentless water had plastered his hair to his scalp and was rolling down his face, in a gross mockery of tears that he would never shed, as his eyes flashed in my direction in apparent rage.

The rest of the Cullens looked utterly confused at our exchange and Emmett moved forward to place a hand on Edward's shoulder, who now looked ready to snap at any moment.

"Edward, what are you doing," Emmett questioned, watching his brother's hands curl into fists, as Edward tried to control whatever he was thinking of doing at the time.

"It was her. She was the one that sold Bella out to the Volturi. She was their informant," he spat, barely able to form coherent sentences in his anger, "and then she stood by and allowed Bella to murder a human. She has been behind everything from the beginning." He finished listing my well contemplated deeds off in a matter of seconds, in order for his family to understand , before turning to me and saying, "and all I want to know is why."

All of the Cullens were eyeing me in shock and disbelief. "Is this true, Tanya," Carlisle asked, looking disappointed and appalled at the same time.

I steeled myself against their reactions and decided to give away nothing more. It was not worth it. I would not stand here to be tried and judged for what I had done by anyone, not even the ones I had so completely wronged. All I wanted to do, at that second, was to escape the scrutiny of this situation.

"Yes, it is true," I said, my voice deceptively strong, "and as to my reasons, I don't believe I owe you any explanations."

"No, you don't" snapped Edward, "you owe us far more than that, but for the moment, you are going to tell me why you decided to destroy our lives."

"No," I said defiantly, knowing that I was past all means of forgiveness that I had eventually hoped to achieve. In my darkest fantasies that I had held up until about an hour ago, I had imagined, if there was ever a time when Edward and the Cullens discovered the extent of my transgressions that they would immediately pardon me. In my mind, my reasons had so throughly explained the outcome that it seemed insane that someone else would not agree with me. But looking into their eyes, I knew that forgiveness was now nothing more that a fool's dream.

I heard the beginning of a growl issuing from Edward's chest and saw Emmett's hand became more restraining. I watched fearfully, allowing myself to consider the possibility that Edward might actually pounce in his extreme rage.

However, he quieted my fears by shaking off Emmett's hand and saying in a menacingly, flat voice that told me that he had mastered his fury, "no, Tanya, I'm not going to attack you, although you justly deserve it. Right now I'm going to find Bella and try to clean up this mess that you saw fit to create. I just want to make one thing clear before I go, and that is that I never wish to see your face again. Are we understood?" His face held no resemblance of any type of recognition, as if by shear will-power he was making me disappear right before his eyes.

I looked around, trying to find some sort of reprieve from the vampires surrounding us, however I was only met with various levels of shock and dismay. So, I scraped together what little dignity I had left and replied smoothly, "dually noted."

With that he turned and continued in the direction that Bella had disappeared to this morning, his family following in his wake. As they left, I realized that Edward had effectively banished me from my home while the Cullens still resided in Alaska and that I literally had no where to go. I considered calling my family in order to tell them what had happened and to ask for their help. Immediately I rejected this thought, for I was sure that word of my disloyalty would soon reach their ears and I did not want them to have to choose between the Cullens and myself. It seemed that in a blink of an eye a world that had seemed so small and comfortable this morning, became a vast and lonely expanse that offered no sense of security.

Understanding that I was now utterly alone for the first time in hundreds of years, I took off in the opposite direction in the still pouring rain not knowing when and where I would stop. I only hoped that when I did that all memory of this incident would be banished from my mind.

**EPOV**

I would have not believed it possible that one person perform such malevolent deeds, if I had not witnessed them directly from that person's mind. And to discover that that person was Tanya, who had been a practically a member of our family for half a century, had been staggering.

On top of all this, she seemed so nonchalant as she informed me that the love of my existence was now wandering, by her self, after she had just killed a human being. For a moment all I saw was red, as pure rage washed through me. For the first time the monster in my head and I desired the same goal and that was to make Tanya feel some small amount of the pain that she had put Bella and I through since the moment she had decided that it was her duty to spoil the first shred of true happiness that I had found since I had awoken to find myself a vampire.

However, Emmett's hand and Tanya's frantic thoughts brought me back to myself, making me realize, that while Tanya's actions had been unforgivable, she was still a type of family and I could not harm her. Also, I remembered that while I was standing here talking, Bella was probably in an immense amount of pain. I needed to find her, but first I had to make clear to Tanya that her actions had severe repercussions. Her hurt expression inspired no pity from me, as I turned away from her, for what would hopefully be the last time.

I tried to block Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper's distorted thoughts as we ran through the Tuscan coutryside, trying to pick up on Bella's fragrance that the rain seemed intent on washing away. In the middle of nowhere, however her scent seemed to somehow diverge into two directions. I stopped in my tracks, still breathing heavily from anger and attempted to determine which way I should take. Remembering what Alice had started to say before the signal had cut out, I knew that it was of the up-most importance to choose the correct path and quickly. If I was in a better mood I might have laughed at the fact that I was literally standing in the middle of a proverbial crossroads and wished desperately for some type guidance.

With that thought, I looked down at my cell phone, to discover, with relief that the signal had returned. The rest of the family eyed me warily, as if waiting for me to snap. Carlisle's thoughts in particular, echoed immense concern for Bella's welfare, but he still found it hard to believe that Tanya had been the source of all of our recent trials. I sighed, not wanting to think about that at the moment, for if I did I would fall into a sea of anger that would over take me. And as tempting as that sounded, it would waste far too much time, time that I did not have. So, instead I dialed a familiar cell phone number and waited for the other line to pick up.

"Hello," said Alice, her usually high-pitched voice saturated in distress.

"You know why I called Alice," I said, working with all my might to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"I'm sorry, Edward," she sighed, "I tried to tell you before."

"Tell me what, Alice," I asked my panic breaking through my carefully composed facade.

"Bella is gone," Alice replied.

"Gone? Alice, gone where," I exhaled, getting exasperated with Alice's cryptic answers.

"Gone to Volterra," she answered, her voice devoid of emotion, "hello, Edward?"

I did not hear her last words, for the moment that Alice had mentioned Volterra I had dropped the phone on the muddy terrain and began to sprint in the direction of the dreaded city to reclaim the one I loved.

**A/N: I debated over to have the last part be in Bella's point of view or in Edward's, so I wrote both, but Edward's just seem to fit better. But the good news is that I already have half of the next chapter written. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Don't forget to review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Obvi****ously, I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

**Thank you so much to all who reviewed! I hope you enjoy the chapter, just be warned the first part is kind of depressing. Lets just say that Bella's mind is not a very happy place right now. **

**BPOV**

I do not even believe that a word has ever been imagined to describe the deplorable creature that I truly was; no phrase that quite caught the essence of the disgusting act that I had just committed. For the rest of eternity, fearful brown eyes and pleading Italian words that I could not comprehend would haunt my every step. For the rest of time, I would remember the extent of the damage that I could incur and what the results of that type of destruction were. My heart felt as if were literally ripping into two, as I willed myself to disappear and the earth sped underneath my feet.

My entire being felt dirty, contaminated. I hated feeling the warm liquid that I had stole rushing through my dead veins to give me strength and the absence of the burning in the back of my throat, which I used to despise, but now viewed as a symbol of the innocence that I had lost the moment I had taken the life of that defenseless man. I wished more than anything that I could achieve a manner of release in the form of tears, however maybe it was fitting that my eyes would never again produce those products of despair. After all, why did a monster such as me deserve any type of relief?

It appeared that the very sky heard my silent wish, for at that moment it tore open, as if it had witnessed all that I had done and was also in mourning. Without consciously deciding to halt I found myself collapsed in the waist deep water of a large stream, my body shuddering with the force of my dry sobs, as my hair slowly absorbed the water that was falling from the sky. Minutes dragged by and my cries, that disturbed the stillness of the deserted atmosphere, slowly quieted into small gasps of pain, as if my body had psychically used up its capacity for grief.

Eventually, the water settled around me into a smooth mirror and I caught sight of my ghastly form. My face and hands were coated with small specks of blood and my eyes, which after a month of adhering to a vegetarian diet had once been a deep orange, were now glowing their original, demonic red. Unable to bear the sight, I lashed out at the water slamming my fist down into the center of the despised reflection. However, no matter how thoroughly I distorted the image, the red eye's stared back at me through the water, as if mocking me in my misery.

The feeling of contamination returned and I viciously began scrubbing my hands and face, trying to remove all traces of the unnamed mans death. If I was a human I believe I would have taken off skin in my nonsensical efforts, for even when the water had removed the evidence from my body I could still feel its presence. It was as if there was blood on my hands that would never wash away, no matter what measures I took to remove it. Vaguely the words of Lady Macbeth invaded my thoughts, "out, damned spot! Out, I say!", as I continued my relentless bathing that offered me no release.

After minutes of this pointless effort, the fight abandoned me and I sank to the ground on the muddy shore, as the rain continued to stream down my face and the black clouds swirled above. It was then that I began to contemplate my next move, for I knew that I could not stay here forever. With my luck another innocent human would soon walk by and the monster that had made an appearance this morning would return, which was something that I could not allow. It was then and there that I made a solemn promise to myself that I would never again allow human blood to pass my lips, no matter what the circumstances.

With this resolution in mind, I listed my options silently in my head. Immediately, I found myself longing for Edward's arms, knowing that once I was there all of my problems would instantly disappear. '_He will never take you back_,' said a sneaky voice in the back of my head, '_he won't love you after this. Before he could love you out of sympathy, because you were his mistake, but now you have committed an unspeakable act that will ban you from the Cullens. By now they must know and by now Edward must despise you_.'

I could not deny the logic to these words, after all Edward would probably have trouble looking at me after this, let alone loving me. No, I could never return to the family that I had come to adore over the past month; the family that I had inflicted so much pain upon. They deserved nothing more than to go home and resume the path that their lives were headed before I came along and destroyed everything they had built.

When my heart finally grasped the fact that I could never again vanish into love's understanding embrace, it cried out for the next best option. In that moment I wanted nothing more than to simply lose consciousness and be banished from this world entirely, however I knew this was impossible from what Edward had told me. And I did not feel I deserved sweet oblivion at this point, for it would not fix any of the problems that I had brought in the last month. No, my next action would be something that benefited others, for my happiness did not matter anymore. After all, I was now the type of villain that used to haunt my childhood storybooks and nowhere in those tales do I ever recall the monster receiving a happy ending.

Then it occurred to me what my next step should be, what it must be. It seemed so painfully obvious that I was amazed that I did not think of it long before, for if I had that brown-eyed man might have lived to see the sunset.

In one stroke, I had the opportunity to free the Cullens and ensure that I was rightfully punished for the rest of eternity; I would turn myself over to the Volturi. After all, could anyone envision a more perfect penalty then to disappear into the ranks of the stoic army that I had witnessed just last night and vanish into a world devoid of color and light? And most importantly, Edward and the Cullens could go back to Alaska unscathed and would be finally freed of my incompetence. The rain had settled into a light drizzle as I stood up to put my plan into motion and began to take off in the direction of the ancient city that I had once feared, completely set in my resolution.

**APOV**

Snow covered tree's rushed past the tinted windows of Carlisle's Mercedes, as Rosalie and I flew down the abandoned road. However, in the urgency of the situation, the car seemed as if it were sitting still.

"Rosalie, the plane takes of in fifteen minutes," I pleaded, "do you think you could go a little faster?"

"This is as fast as this car goes," growled Rosalie, annoyed to be reproached for her driving, "you know Carlisle never lets me work on his car." It was true, Carlisle's car was the one car in our garage that had not benefited from Rosalie's improvements and a quick glance at the speedometer confirmed that she was indeed utilizing the cars maximum potential. I sighed, running my fingers over my temple while once again examining the events that were yet to come, only to be met with the same horrible images that had haunted me all night. After I pulled myself back into the present, I caught Rosalie eyeing me cautiously.

"Has anything changed," she asked quietly.

"No," I replied briefly, as the airport came into view. Moving at an annoyingly slow human pace, I grabbed my bags as Rosalie sped off to park the car. By the time she had returned I was standing in the middle of the crowded terminal, waiting my plane to be announced. She stood beside me, still looking concerned and remaining absolutely motionless in her nerves.

"You will get there in time," she asked, worry coating her tone.

"I don't know," I replied, annoyed at my own limitations, "there is still too much to be decided." Silently she nodded and they finally announced that they were boarding first-class passengers. I knew both her and Esme were worried about what I was eventually going to have to do, however it was a risk I needed to take.

"I'll see you when I get back," I muttered, by way of good-bye.

As I was walking away, I heard her whisper in a voice much too low for human ears, "be safe, Alice," before she disappeared into the sea of humans. After I took my seat, I closed my eyes, recalling the scene that had played out earlier this evening.

As I had raced around my room, hurtling any garment I could grab into my already overstuffed suit case, Esme had said, "But how could she do something so horrible? There must have been some valid reason that drove her."

I marveled at Esme's determination to see the good in everyone, even in a situation such as this, however I kept my tone even as I said, "She would not tell them why."

Beside Esme, Rosalie eyes shone like black fire as she spat, "oh please, we all know why she did it. She has had her eye on Edward for years; it's not a coincidence that the day after she meets Bella, she makes the call to the Volturi." I silently agreed with Rosalie's theory, as I listened to Esme and Rosalie discuss the matter further while I continued to pack.

"And Bella really lost control," Esme asked softly, looking in my direction.

"Yes and if she sticks with her original plan at this moment she is headed to the strait to the Volturi to offer herself up as a bargaining chip," I grunted, struggling to close the bag.

"Oh, yes, because that is a logical reaction," huffed Rosalie, flinging herself down on the bed, her blonde hair pooling around her as I finally claimed victory over the stubborn zipper.

"I don't think 'logical' could really be used to describe Bella's thought process right now," I replied, "I just hope the plan will be enough to fix the gigantic mess that has been made over there." I still could not believe that a coven of eight strong vampires, who possessed a mind reader and a fortune-teller, could have allowed such an awful string of events to take place. However, I was past wondering how it happened, at the moment the only thing I was concerned with was how we were going to fix it.

Esme, Rosalie, and myself had spent the last hour alternating between discussing the events of last night and forming our solution, which may or may not work. So much of it would be determined on the unmade decisions of one person, however it was the only way that made any difference my visions. Even with this uncertainty in mind, we had all agreed that it was the best way to proceed and so the plan was set. Esme would go to the Denali's to exchange information, while Rosalie drove me to the airport. After I was on the plane, Rosalie return home, to await the eventual arrival of the Carlisle and Emmett to inform them what was going on. At a point, Jasper would have to be informed of the game, as he would eventually play an important role in ensuring that this plan, that was riddled with holes, would succeed.

The plane was soaring over Canada as I scanned the results of fate and again images of Bella in a grey cloak, a lifeless Edward, and my destroyed family danced before my eyes, making me will the carrier to move faster. I was so afraid of these nightmares coming to pass, regardless of what I did to counter act them, but I comforted myself with the fact that I still had the means to alter the future. It was true that if I went through with this plan that in the short term, some people would still be damaged, however frankly, nothing I did could prevent that now. Yet, if my means worked, than I could potentially change the devastating long-term events that I had witnessed during my latest foray into the future.

I prayed that what I was about to do would be enough to eventually save all those who were sure to be hurt in the coming days, as I recalled my thoughts from so long ago when I was abusing my brother for his foolishness, "_Some things about the future were unchangeable. Of course, he had refused to listen_."

'_No_,' I thought to myself, '_this is completely different, it has to be_.' I spent the remainder of the flight in deep thought, trying to catch the next move of my query, however decisions were being made far to quickly for anything to become concrete. Finally, a green landmass appeared in the horizon from the endless blue expanse, informing me that I soon would be arriving.

Eventually a time came where I had both feet on the ground and luggage in hand. I sighed as I stepped out of London's bustling airport and began the search for the one person who could save my family.

**Don't forget to review! **


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Thank you so much to all those who took the time to review, as I always appreciate it.**

**BPOV**

The hidden path that I had followed just last night was utterly deserted as I slowly made my way through the vast underground network on my way to the castle of Volterra. The only noise that broke through the heavy silence of the never-ending channel was the occasional drip of water or the scuttle of a stray rat. The closer I moved to my destination, the more the overwhelming urge to bolt overtook me, however I then remembered the fearful brown-eyes that pleaded with me to show mercy. '_You deserve this_,' I thought to myself, continuing on my way without the slightest hesitation.

When I finally exited the tunnel, I found myself standing in front of the one vampire that I had been hoping to avoid during this little encounter.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," scoffed Jane, "and where may I ask are your loyal bodyguards?"

Ignoring her question, I said in an emotionless voice, "I'm here to see Aro, Caius, and Marcus."

She seemed to consider me for a moment, before replying stiffly, "You are in luck. I was just headed that way, otherwise I wouldn't bother."

This time we took a different path through the labyrinth of doors and passages, occasionally passing a vampire, who would nod in Jane's direction in respect and shot me a quizzical glance, before moving on. Walking in front of me with an air of arrogance and without once looking back to see if I had followed, Jane maneuvered the many sharp twist and turns that all appeared the same. Even with my enhanced memory, I do not believe that I could have found a way out of this glorified maze by the time we reached the room in question.

We entered what appeared to be a lavishly decorated sitting room, complete with overstuff sofas and a roaring fire. In the middle of this room sat Aro and Caius, who were having a heated argument of some sort while Marcus watched silently from an armchair. Their conversation ceased, however, upon our arrival.

"Yes," snapped Caius, annoyed to have his conversation interrupted.

"You have a visitor," replied Jane, mildly, gesturing in my direction.

The three vampires looked up with nothing but pure shock on their faces as they caught sight of me standing next to Jane, however Aro was the first to recover and he said, "Ah, Bella, welcome back! And to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I'm here to accept your offer," I responded blandly, trying to conclude this meeting as quickly as humanly, or inhumanly, possible. At this point, I was past feeling, past caring. My only goal was to ensure the Cullen's safety and the only price that would have to be paid for such a wish would be my pathetic life. I almost felt bad for the Volturi, for it seemed as if they were getting the shorter end of thebargain. Before anything else was said, however, I wanted to make myself absolutely clear on my terms so I added, "conditionally."

Aro's face fell slightly, as he said, "and what, my dear, did you have in mind?"

"You will leave the Cullens alone and allow them to return home immediately," I said firmly, "and you will understand that I will not drink the blood of humans."

Beside me, Jane growled under her breath and Caius began to mutter, "the insolence"; however Aro held up a hand and motioned them to be silent. His eyes scrutinized into mine for a moment, as if looking for something. What ever it was, he must have found it for the next moment he exclaimed, "then, my dear girl, I believe we have an accord!"

"What," Caius hissed, "you're just going to let the animal drinkers leave?"

"Calm yourself brother," Aro muttered, almost too low for me to catch, "do not forget what ouroriginalintentions in this affair were." Caius looked far from appeased, however the next moment Aro looked up with a brilliant smile across his ancient face and said, "Welcome to the Volturi, my child. Jane," he started, looking in her direction, "would you please go and show Bella her new accommodations? After that, I would like you to find her the appropriate attire and take her to the training room, as I am sure we are all eager to see a demonstration of her fabled power."

Jane nodded silently in response, while gritting her teeth and Aro said, "My brothers and I will come down later to observe your progress. Until then..." At Aro's words, I felt an overwhelming sense of unease settle over me, for it felt as though someone had just thrown away the key to my prison. I could feel the hard mask that I had worn since I had made my decision slowly beginning to crumble and the last thing I wanted to do was break down in front of these apathetic vampires. That is why I was grateful when in the next second, Aro dismissed us, with a wave of his hand, and went back to the conversation that he was engaged in before we had interrupted.

"You had better toughen up if you want to last long here," Jane said in a rigid tone as she led me through the darkened corridors of unremarkable black doors. Finally, we arrived to a room at the far end of the hall and she said, "I'll be back," before closing the heavy door with a resounding thud.

Quickly, I went to close the curtains on the one source of light in the room, wanting to shut out all access to the world that existed outside these walls. Ignoring the bed and other plush furniture, I went the furthermost corner of the room and slide down onto the stone floor. There I loneliness hit me, as I recalled the love that I had known for such a brief period and wished more than anything that I could go back to that day in the forest when it seemed as if nothing could go wrong. But now that was just a dream and ahead of me stretched hollow centuries, in which I would walk this world alone always longing for the love that would never come back.

No, I would not think like that, after all this entire situation was my fault. Edward deserved to move on and be happy, just as I deserved this fate as a punishment for my monstrous actions. In my human life, I had always been skilled at repressing painful memories and this would be no different. I ignored the hole that as slowly ripping its way through my heart, telling me that that would be impossible. It would just be one more thing I had to endure in this place, and endure it I would, every moment of it.

I had just finished composing myself when Jane reappeared at the doorway, throwing a gray cloak at me roughly and beckoning me to follow her once more.

**EPOV**

Her beautiful fragrance had faded slightly, but had not entirely disappeared, as we sat in the lobby, waiting for Carlisle to return from his meeting with the three leaders of the Volturi. When he finally emerged, with Aro at his side, his face appeared grave.

"It seems we have permission to leave," said Carlisle, through gritted teeth.

"Yes, isn't it wonderful! I have arranged a plane to take you home directly, as I'm sure you are all eager to get back to your lives in Alaska," sang Aro.

I stared at Aro for a long moment, before asking, in a cautiously controlled voice, "and where is Bella?"

"I'm not sure I know what you mean," Aro replied, his face still holding up its façade of benevolence. Jasper tensed beside me, as I felt my anger and frustration break the borders of my control.

"Do you believe we are that foolish," I snarled, ignoring Carlisle's sharp warning look, "Again, where is she?"

With only the slightest edge to his voice, Aro gave up the charade and replied, "My dear boy, she came her of her owndispositionand unfortunately at the moment she is indisposed."

"I'm not leaving without her," I responded, defiantly, my hands unintentionally curling into fists at my sides.

"I believe you are extremely confused, my friend," Aro said with a smile, "for although you desire to contact her, it is not her wish to see you. In fact, she has specifically asked me to tell you that she is sorry for misleading you, however she can no longer reciprocate your feelings of attachment. Apparently she blames you for the unfortunate event that occurred this morning, after all if you had not have changed her, none of this would have happened."

Aro's words hit me like a punch in the stomach, as he confirmed the very thing that I had feared since the day I had lost control in the meadow. She had at last come to hate me and understand the monster that I truly was. My knee's felt as if they were about the buckle as I tried to absorb this awful blow. It was all gone now; my fragile happiness was broken, past all hope of repair.

Aro's voice pulled me back to the present situation as he cheerily said to me, with a look of false sympathy in his eye's, "I am terribly sorry, my friend. However, you are young and I have no doubt that you will bounce back quickly." He now gestured to all of us as he stated, "and now my friends, it appears we have reached the conclusion of our meeting!"

"Thank you for your hospitality and your consideration for our desire to return home," Jasper responded, diplomatically.

"Think nothing of it," Aro replied, "please feel free to visit us any time you like! I would particularly enjoy meeting young Alice, if that could be arranged."

"Perhaps," Carlisle said vaguely and they all began to file toward the exit, however I could not find it in myself to move my legs to follow.

"Come on, Edward," Emmett grunted, giving me a light push in the direction of the way that would put more distance between my love and myself.

"Edward," said Carlisle, giving me a meaningful look, "we have to go now."

Numbly, I nodded my head and followed my family, listening to their thoughts of our imminent departure as we arrived at the villa to collect our belongings. In my borrowed room I finally registered that I was about to board a plane that would place me half a world away from Bella's presence. I realized that this path was impossible for me, for I knew I needed to be near Bella as I used to need air to breathe. No, I would stay here and 'wait in the wings,' as it were, for what, I did not know. But one thing was for certain, even if it took the rest of time, I would never give up on Bella.

**APOV**

Well, I had definitely learned one thing over the past several hours and that was tracking was not my forte. I had been up and down the city in the hunt of the elusive vampire, however I had yet to ever pick up a trance of their presence. I had just to checked into a local hotel, when I had gotten a vision that revealed that the rest of my family would soon be bodily dragging Edward on a plane that would take them back to Alaska.

Quickly, I snatched my phone off the nightstand of the shabby room and began to dial a familiar number.

Soon, my favorite voice echoed out of the receiver, "Alice?"

"Jasper," I said, urgently, "you can't get on that plane."

"What do you mean I can't get on the plane," Jasper responded, his confusion apparent.

"I can't tell you everything at the moment, but trust me, you have to stay there in Italy with Edward," I replied, "I'll meet you there when I can. I can't imagine that I should be more than a couple of days." I silently hoped that that was all the time it would take to locate my target.

"No, Alice, you can't come to Italy," Jasper sputtered, "you don't understand, Aro has shown a particular interest in you. I can't let you come anywhere near Volterra right now."

"Jasper, if there were any other way I would agree with you," I sighed, "but this is the only path that even makes the slightest impact on the future."

"Why can't you tell me what is going on," he questioned, suspiciously.

"I promise I will tell you everything the second I arrive, however I can't run the risk that Edward would hear your thoughts," I explained, "just make sure Carlisle and Emmett board the plane and then take Edward, check into a hotel, and lay low for a little while. I promise to contact you on my way to Italy."

Jasper had known me long enough to know that if I was keeping something from him that it was for good reason. So with that, he replied, "alright, I'm on it. Oh, and Alice?"

"Hmm," I responded, getting ready to hang up and continue on my fruitless hunt through the city. My mind was already trolling ahead into the future, scanning for any trace of the next movements of my query, however Jasper's words brought me back to the present tense.

"I love you," he whispered.

My voice cracked as I responded, "I love you too, Jasper, with all my heart." I heard him chuckle softly as the other line cut out and I stared at the phone sadly. Everything was so crazy right now and I hated to let go of the one comfort that could distract me from the dreaded task that was looming ever closer. However, I was not about to let the future of my family go without a fight.

**Don't forget to review! **


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Thank you to all who review the last chapter!**

****

**A/N: Oh, and there were a few questions as to whether or not Bella told Aro to tell Edward that she no longer wanted him. And the answer to that question is no, Bella did not even know that the Cullen's came to find her. That was simply a lie that Aro concocted in an attempt to get rid of Edward, without causing a scene. Sorry for the confusion. **

**APOV**

Three weeks had gone by. Three weeks of me wondering up and down the English countryside without even a trace of the scent that I was so desperately tracking. I attempted to scan the future to gain some insight on where she was, however, to my frustration, it appeared she still had not settled on one particular destination.

I had only been able to speak with Jasper a few times since I had told him to stay in Italy, but from what he told me, both he and Edward had so far managed to escape the notice of the Volturi, yet I did not know how much longer their luck would hold. Each time we had spoken, he had grown increasingly worried, as I still had not let him in on the reasons behind my strange behavior. I had felt utterly useless, as days had melded into weeks without yielding any results. It was in a hotel in Bath that my luck finally appeared to have changed, as I caught a glimpse of what I had been waiting for during these longs week - a concrete decision.

In the early hours of the morning, greenery whipped past the vampire that I had been so tirelessly searching for and a town came into view on the grey horizon. The empty room echoed with my squeal of delight, as my target intersected a road that held a sign, alerting me to her future location. My eyes snapped open and I quickly threw some money on the bed, wanting to avoid wasting time that it would take to check out, not when I finally had found my lead. After I had leapt noiselessly from the open window, I hurled myself in my prey's intended direction.

Just over an hour had elapsed when the same skyline that I had encountered in my vision came into view, and as if on cue, I witnessed her lithe form now moving just ahead of mine. She must have sensed my presence behind her, for she suddenly shifted in a completely different direction and picked up her pace. However, the second she made her choice, a vision followed, allowing me to know where was the opportune spot to cut her off. In a flash, I was standing before her, while she arranged her shocked features into an emotionless mask.

Suddenly my three-week hunt seemed ridiculously simple compared to what I would have to do in order to execute the next part of the scheme. Going with the adage you catch more flies with honey, I tried to repress my feelings of anger toward her her and put on my happy face, for it was vital that she agreed to participate or all that I had done so far would have been in vain.

"Hello, Tanya," I began sweetly, "long time, no see."

**Tanya's POV**

The last few weeks had been filled with mindless wandering, which more often than not, I would find myself in some strange town without ever having the intention of heading in its direction. Despite my hopes, I had yet to achieve the state of ignorance of my actions in Italy. Every human that I passed only provided me with another reminder of what I had done and so I tried to avoid any type of civilizations at all cost, sticking mostly to the rural parts of the country. The one comfort I believe I could have found in all of this, would have been the support of my family, however, Edward had ensured that I was denied even that simple relief. It sickened me to think that by now, Edward, Bella, and the rest of the Cullens were probably in Alaska getting on with their happy little, without even a thought as to my fate.

It seemed that my new goal in life had now became the desire to forget, so with this theory in place, I had reclaimed the mantle of a nomad. I honestly did not see how some vampires endured on such an existence eternally, for after weeks of robotically moving from town to town, without any sense of direction, I felt as if I wanted to bang my head against a wall with boredom, figuratively speaking.

Time held no meaning anymore to the point where I could honestly not tell whether a day or a year had passed since I fled. Finally, just looking for a purpose to my existence, I decided to retrace my footsteps from when I had visited this country shortly after my change. I guess some part of me was simply trying to piece together my past in order to determine where I should go in the future. Regardless of the point to this exercise, I knew the obvious first stop for my walk down memory lane.

Glad to finally have an actual destination in mind, I rapidly set off to go and explore the town of my youth, however, as I neared the city I could sense another of my kind swiftly approaching from behind. Hoping that I had just accidently crossed paths with a random vampire, I promptly changed directions, believing that they would continue on in the direction of the settlement. Relief washed over me as I felt the threat fade into the distance and I laughed at myself for being so paranoid. However, my laughter quickly transformed into a gasp of shock as a familiar pixie appeared in front of me without warning.

I quickly worked to compose my face into a hardened mask as the pint sized vampire sang, as if she did not have a care in the world, "Hello, Tanya, long time no see."

"Alice," I replied, taking pride in myself that my voice remained as expressionless as my face, "what the hell are you doing here?" Alice and I had always previously gotten along, however we we were never what you would call close and as much as I desired company at the moment, I did not want to deal with any of the drama that I thought that I had left in Italy. The only logical conclusion that I could imagine for her to be here was to further berate me for my actions and if that was the reason for her ambush, I did not want to hear it.

She, however, looked taken aback by my words and her face took on a serious tone for a moment while she said, "oh please, you know why I'm here."

"What, did the almighty Cullen clan decide that I deserved some other form of punishment," I asked dryly, "and if that is the case you can just leave now…"

"Tanya," Alice cut in, her features saturated in confusion, "I came to take you with me to Volterra."

"Oh, that's rich," I responded, getting angry now, "what banishment wasn't enough? Now you want to pitch me to the Volturi?" I turned to leave her where she stood, however her next words halted me in my tracks.

"No," Alice said, with a touch of desperation, "I need you to come to Volterra to help me save Bella."

With her words, my careful mask melted away to display the full extent of shock that was currently radiating through my body. "What do you mean, _save_ Bella," I questioned, cautiously, curiosity forcing me to turn around a gather further information.

"After the… incident," Alice began, obviously trying to keep her feelings on the matter in check, "Bella went to the Volturi and traded herself for my families safe return to Alaska."

"So," I spat, not wanting to consider that the child could have done anything so selfless. '_She must have had another motive_,' I thought to myself.

"So, are you going to help me or not," she questioned, her small frame shaking in anger and her tiny hand rolled up into fists.

"Just go and talk to her," I scoffed, "and leave me out of this."

"First of all, this is your mess so I think it's a little more than fair that you help clean it up," she said, finally breaking into a rant that she obviously had been attempting to hold back, "and trust me, if there was any other way to convince Bella to leave with us I would take it. However, I have ran every other possible scenario through my visions and the only way that she even considers coming with us in the limited amount of time that we will have to reason with her is if you tell her what you did. Any other way and she continues down this ridiculous, self sacrificing path. Only with you there, does the future slightly shift. Apparently, she has to understand why this happened to her and she will not believe any of the facts, unless they come from your mouth."

"I'm sure," I replied, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"What do you mean, _I'm sure_," she said, her voice raising an octave, "is it really that hard to believe that some people look for the best in others? Right now she is existing under the deluded idea that everything that has happened is somehow her fault, Edward is under the impression that she had abandoned him, and only you have the power to clear these all of these terrible misconceptions."

I considered Alice's words for a minute, for it appeared some sick twist of fate had now granted me what I had craved from the beginning, the ability to control the outcome of the despised romance. Every fiber of my being was begging me run as far away from this annoying little pixie as I possible, however something that felt oddly like a conscience made its self known and I realized that helping Bella would be the humane thing to do. '_Ah, but you're not human_,' my brain said, trying to squash the unruly thought before it had time to mature into a resolution.

Buying time, I asked, sarcastically, "and what, if I help you I'll be magically forgiven and we'll all go back to Alaska, one big happy family?"

"No," Alice snorted, and then continued quietly, "what you did, Tanya, it was unforgivable. I've tried to rationalize it in my head somehow, but nothing could ever justify your actions. If you could only see the damage that you have caused to Bella and my brother..."

I tried to flush out the image of two pained figures that flashed before my eyes at Alice's rant by focusing on the insanity of what she was asking me to do. "Well, that's a lovely incentive. I'll just go trot off to Italy and save the happy couple then go right back to being a pariah," I shot back, "what could possibly drive me to do that?"

"Piece of mind, knowing that you have atoned for your deeds," Alice countered, narrowing her eyes, "even though you play it off as nothing, I'm going to bet that you feel some kind of remorse for all of this. The question is not what you would gain by going to Italy, but could you live with yourself if you didn't?"

Could I? That was a question I did not know the answer too, however going to face the girl I had betrayed was not the solution I had in mind to soothe away the guilt.

After several seconds of silence, the sun was beginning to rise and Alice's bell-like voice harshly broke through the early morning tranquility, "so are you coming or not?"

**Don't forget to review! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Thank you to all who took the time to review. **

**BPOV**

The past three weeks I seemed to have dragged on eternally, as I lived in an endless waking nightmare. I believe half of me was waiting for one of the Cullens to come and tell me that all of this had been a terrible mistake. However, when I finally found the courage to ask Aro whether or not the Cullens had returned to Alaska, his answer had destroyed the small piece of my heart that had survived on my vain hope. Apparently, the Volturi had gone to the villa to inform the Cullen's that they were, at last, free to leave anytime they wished and, according to Aro, they had immediately accepted without any hesitations.

It took a minute to work up the nerve to question, "did they ask about me?"

"No," Aro had replied, sadly shaking his head, "by then they had discovered your mishap with the human and it seems that they could not find it within themselves to forgive you." He then laid a comforting hand on my shoulder and continued, "but you mustn't blame yourself, my dear, you were only after all acting on your natural instinct." His last words had caused me to angrily shake off his hand and retreat to my room, so that no one would witness the impact that that information had on me.

The next few weeks, I tried not to let my thoughts wonder to the Cullens, who were probably at the time living out their lives, happy to finally be rid of the nuisance that had caused so much damage. In order to forget, I retreated within myself, becoming a mere ghost of the person I had once been and settling into a type of numb pain. I now avoided books, movies, or music in any form, for they all reminded me too much of the life I could have had if I had simply had better control. Instead I threw myself whole-heartedly into the reason I had recruited in the first place, to gain control of my talent. It was only in the training room that I was able to distract myself enough to momentarily forget the hole that seemed to have formed where my heart used to be. As I dodged the mock attacks of various members of the Volturi, I began to discover the intricacies of my power and was now able to extend its use beyond myself. Due to my rapid progress, I had moved up a notch in the ranks and now wore a slightly darker cloak to prove my status. Thankfully, however, I was yet to be set out on assignments due to my youth and ineptitude with physical combat.

I had once imagined the vampires of the Volturi to lead an almost robotic lifestyle that catered to the one goal of pleasing their masters, however I quickly discovered that I was grossly mistaken. Frequently, groups were set outside the city on a variety of assignments and inside the massive stonewalls there was always a plethora of activity that never seemed to cease. It was odd how genuinely happy and connected everyone seemed to be in this type of setting. However, I could not find the motivation to join them, so I lived on the fringes of this close-knit society, only functioning to hunt and gain an education.

After two weeks had elapsed, I began to notice Marcus studying my movements throughout various times of the day. At first I did not think anything of this, however as it became a more frequent occurrence, I made the decision to ask him whether or not I had offended him somehow. Getting my chance a week later, I stopped him as he passed in one of the many passages throughout the ancient castle.

However, when I questioned him about his apparent interest in my actions, he in turn asked me his usual expressionless voice, "has anyone ever told you the nature of my talent, Isabella?"

"Yes," I replied simply, looking at him strangely. With a sharp stab, I recalled the night before I had left with the Cullen's for Italy and Carlisle had explained the gifts of various members of the Volturi. According to Carlisle, Marcus possessed the ability to view the strength of relationships, yet I was confused as to what this had to do with me.

"Ah," he replied, sending me a calculating look, "it is just I am very interested in the bond you and your mate seem to share. For you see, in all my many centuries on this earth, I only once come across a connection as strong as yours."

'_What mate_,' my mind silently questioned, but of course, after a moment, I knew he was speaking of the Edward. The very thought of his name, sending a hollow throb to the ever present hole in my chest.

"You must be mistaken," I mumbled, looking at my feet and wanting to escape this conversation, "that connection was broken."

"No," Marcus replied, softly, still looking at me as if he could somehow see my very soul, "its extended, but not broken. You have to understand that distance does not alter that level of commitment. Trust me, it is still there, as strong as ever."

"I wish I could believe you," I sighed. During my time here, I had learned to stop wishing for tears that would never come, the ever-present reminder of what I had lost in the form of my missing heart, was more than enough to express my grief.

"I wish you could too," Marcus replied, his face for once showing some type of emotion, as he appeared to sink into a reverie. After a moment, he resurfaced and continued in a hushed tone and with pain in his eyes, "you should not so lightly dismiss the idea of such a gift, for you can't know how lucky you are to have it until it is permanently stolen from you."

Marcus's comment left me shaken, however try as I might there was no way that I could fathom that Edward still felt anything toward me, other than disgust. After all, he and his family had left without so much as a word of goodbye. It was more than obvious to me that he did not wish to ever see me again, let alone to love me. Even in an alternate universe where what Marcus said was true, I could not forget all the reasons that I had made the decision to come to the Volturi in the first place, for there was just no getting around the fact that I was not good for him.

Suddenly, Marcus took on his traditional emotionless mask before saying, "But listen to me. Aro and Caius would have my head if they knew I was speaking to you like this, for they are already half convinced that you will just disappear one day."

"Don't worry," I replied, matching his stoic tone, "I have nowhere to go." It was true, for I did not want to imagine the appalled looks on the Cullen's faces if I were to ever show up on their doorstep. The only other option would be to try living on my own, however my leaving would once again put the Cullen's in danger, which was something I could never do. No, I would just have to get used to the idea, that for better or worse this was my home now.

Marcus watched my face, as if he were witnessing a tragedy first hand that he had no power to stop and with a sigh he turned to continue on his way to where ever he was headed before I had interrupted him.

However, before he had advanced too far, curiosity momentarily overwhelmed me and I turned to ask, "the others you mentioned, the ones that shared that had the strong connection, what happened to them?"

His voice was hollow as he answered, "she was killed and he was left to face the empty ages of this earth without her."

The hole flared more painfully than ever as I questioned, "what were their names?"

"His name is of no importance anymore, for most of his soul retreated from this world the day she died," he replied, with all the pain in the world surfacing on his eyes as he spoke the next name like a prayer, "and her name… her name was Didyme."

As he disappeared, I marveled over the fact that Marcus had shown so much emotion for these unknown vampires. I felt an undeniable sorrow for the two lovers, for although I was currently in a state of depression at least I had the knowledge that the one I loved was out there somewhere living out his life and happy. I could not imagine how I would find the strength to endure if this were not the case. After some time had passed, I shook my head and as I continued on my way to the training room, I thought morosely, '_it appears nobody gets a happy ending_.'

**APOV**

A large grin broke across my face, as the city of Volterra finally came into view on the Tuscan horizon. The past couple of hours had been filled with a whirlwind of activity in which I had bribed my way on to the last flight leaving for Rome, stolen the fabulous yellow Porsche that I was currently sitting in, and nearly tripled the local speed limit in order to reach my destination by sundown. But most importantly, I had somehow succeeded in convincing the vampire sitting next to assist me in saving my sister. For the first time since the beginning of this ordeal, things seemed to be falling into place and I could only hope that my newfound luck would hold.

Not a word had been exchanged between Tanya and I since we had left for the nearest airport, however, even I could not see the outcome of the next scene, due to the unstable emotions of my brother, so I tried to come up with a way to lighten the shock of showing up with Tanya.

"Tanya," I said, trying to keep my tone light, "maybe it would be a good idea if I dropped you off somewhere in the city, just for an hour or two, while I explain the situation."

She looked at me as if I had lost my mind and then asked, "is this some kind of joke?"

"No," I said, trying to approach the subject delicately, "it's just that Jasper and Edward are under the impression that I am coming alone."

"Alice," Tanya growled, her eyes narrowing, "are you telling me that before I have to stroll into Volterra to help you retrieve your families latest pet, I have to face two vampires that just a few weeks ago looked like they wanted to rip me to shreds?"

I widened my eyes in an attempt at an innocent act, however when her expression did not change I sighed and said, grudgingly, "yes, but that is why I want to drop you off for awhile. Even though I can't get a vision of it, I have a feeling that if I tell Jasper and my brother that your coming before they actually see you, it might soften the blow." I nervously glanced in her direction to see if my logic was having any effect on her, however she was audibly grinding her teeth in frustration.

"No," she snapped, "I am not going to hide in the alleys, especially since I'm only here per your request. You wanted me here, so you can deal with the consequences."

My hands tightened on the steering wheel in annoyance and I wanted to point out that the only reason why we were even in this situation was due to her decisions, however I did not think that was wise at the moment, not after it had already taken so much time to get her to agree to come at all. So instead, I loosened my grip to avoid breaking the car and muttered, "fine, but don't expect a warm welcome."

She turned to me with a brilliant smile on her face and replied, "Oh, trust me, I won't dream of it."

Non intentionally, I began to slow down as I approached the city, for although I was eager to see my husband for the first time in almost a month, I was not anticipating their reactions to Tanya's presence. '_Of course_,' I thought to myself, '_Tanya would make this as difficult as possible_.'

When I finally reached the address that Jasper had given me two weeks ago, I found myself in front of a dilapidated apartment building that looked ready to crumble at any moment. Underneath the more recent scents left by Edward and Jasper was the smell decay and mold, telling me that this structure in had been abandoned along time ago. It looked like Jasper had taken my words seriously when I had told him to lay low.

"Can you at least wait in the car for five minutes," I pleaded, trying anyway that I could to avoid the inevitable argument.

Her eye's narrowed as she said, "I'll give you two."

"Fine," I said sharply, slamming the door and trying to calm myself, as I made my way to the threshold.

"Jasper," I called softly, as I walked through the creaking front door into the darkened entrance hall.

"Alice," whispered his smooth voice and in the next second, I felt a pair of arms reach out for me and hold me close. I only allowed myself a moment of this comfort, for I had not forgotten that I only had seconds now to tell both Jasper and Edward of my plan and why Tanya's help was necessary for its success.

Gently pulling away I asked tentatively, "Jasper, I need to talk about something with you and Edward. Where is he?"

"I'm right here, Alice," replied a figure that had suddenly appeared at my words.

I had witnessed my brother experience his low moments before, particularly after he had just bit Bella, when a look of torture would hang in the back of his eyes. However, all those times paled in comparison to his current appearance, as he stared at me with haunting coal black eyes with his entire frame exuding lifelessness.

However, in an instant that extreme melancholy was contorted into unadulterated rage as he stared in the direction of the doorway that I had just come through and let out a soft growl. Around my arm, Jasper's hand tightened as he said, with violence dripping off of his ever syllable, "Tanya, what are you doing here?"

**Don't forget to review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter and I hope everyone had a great Halloween!**

**EPOV**

I had once heard the phrase, "time heals all wounds," however, over the course of the past three weeks, I had come to the conclusion that whoever spoken those words must have never experienced pain of this magnitude. Each second that past, a hole in my chest seemed to grow larger and larger, until I was not sure where I began and this abyss ended. At this point, I was simply living hour by hour, not knowing how I would continue this means of existence much longer.

I used to able to endure on knowledge and the support of my family, but I had sampled all that life could be. I had literally possessed what some people spend a lifetime in pursuit of – pure and unadulterated happiness. For a brief moment in time, I could see a future of pure and utter contentment that had no bounds. However, that future had been heartlessly ripped away with a combination of my terrible actions, Tanya's diabolical scheming, and Aro's cheery words, leaving me to only imagine what could have been.

Jasper had shocked me when he had agreed to stay in Italy with me, regardless of Carlisle and Emmett's protest. All he said in response to their confusion was that Alice had told him it was necessary for him to wait for her in Volterra. Both Carlisle and Emmett had still not looked satisfied with his reply, but had boarded the plane nonetheless. We had all dealt with Alice's visions before, learning that it was best just to do what she suggested and save the questions for later.

Once left alone, we were then faced with the feat of finding a place to hide in the impenetrable city that would not alert the Volturi to our presence. Luckily, we quickly discovered an abandoned apartment building that smelled so foul that, we hoped, it would mask our scents from the other vampires residing in the area.

After we had settled into this rotting piece of architecture, we had nothing to do but wait. Jasper, of course, was always anticipating the phone call that would finally assure him that Alice was on her way, however I could not say what had compelled me to linger in this cursed town. I knew that Bella had abandoned me and moved on, however something in the back of my mind urged me that it was critical that I remain for the time being.

Normally, I would have interrogated Jasper until he told me what Alice was up to, however at that point, I was past caring. For three weeks, I could not even find the motivation to perform the motions of living; instead I just disappeared into the world of music, trying to escape my painful thoughts. It was sprawled on a decaying bed that I first heard Jasper's excited thoughts as Alice greeted him on the floor below. I briefly registered that this probably meant that Jasper and Alice would be returning to Denali soon, leaving me completely alone. However, the prospect did not seem to matter, just as nothing seemed to matter anymore.

I heard Alice quietly question where I was and not wanting her to see me like this, I quickly jumped up and went to meet my sister. When I was finally standing in front of her petite frame, I could see a type of intense distress written plainly across her features. Curiously, I listened intently to her thoughts, which were centered on the last vampire that I would have ever expected her to be thinking of.

For the first time in weeks, I felt some semblance of emotion stir as I watched Tanya's grinning face appear at the threshold. A growl rumbled through my chest, as Jasper angrily asked what she was doing here.

I waited on edge for her response, while I attempted to gain control over my natural instincts, trying to imagine what had brought her here in the first place. After all, hadn't she inflicted enough damage on our lives or did she really feel the need to come and see the product of her actions? However, she remained silent and looked pointedly in Alice's direction.

Alice took a deep breath, as she removed herself from Jaspers arms and said, bravely, "she came here because I asked her to."

"What are you talking about," choked Jasper, for I was still much too enraged to speak.

Alice stared at both of us, before responding, "I told you I had a plan, Jasper. And in order for that plan to work, I needed Tanya."

"Alice, do you know what she did," Jasper replied, now struggling to keep his voice at a conversational volume, "she is the one who called in the Volturi." Tanya winced slightly at his words, before reforming her face in a blase expression, that gave away nothing.

"I know," Alice replied, with confidence, "however, now she's going to help us."

"Help us with what," I questioned irately, finally finding my voice, trying to find the reason that Alice would do something so cruel. It was bad enough that I had to live with the fact that Bella had abandoned me without having the cause of all of this brought to my doorstep to mock me.

Alice set me a confused glance before saying, "help us retrieve Bella, of course."

"Alice, Bella doesn't want any help," I replied, in a defeated tone, "it was her choice to go to the Volturi." My mind also added silently the words that I could not bring myself to say out loud, '_she doesn't want me any me anymore_.'

"Edward," Alice said softly, "how can you believe for a second what Aro told you? She only went to them because she thought you wouldn't want her anymore after what she did. She acted on impulse and offered herself in exchange for our freedom." As she said this, an emotionless Bella flashed through her mind agreeing to Aro's terms, so long as we were allowed to return. Hope erupted in my chest as I witnessed the visions and I discovered that Alice was not lying. For the first time since I last left the Volturi I considered the possibility that all was not lost, however then I realized how thoughtless Bella had been to run in the first place. I groaned and sank into a nearby chair burying my face in my hands, trying to fathom why, of all places, she would disappear into the ranks of the Volturi.

"Why would she do that," I mumbled, mostly to myself.

"She didn't know how we would react to her mistake," Alice replied gently, "and she panicked."

"She could have come and spoken with us," I countered looking up at my sister's face, still not understanding why Bella would resort to such drastic measures.

She gave me a small smile as she said, "I don't know if you have noticed Edward, but you and Bella don't have the best communication skills."

I was about to offer a retort, when Jasper quickly cut in, "so what did you have in mind?"

"Well, the plan is to simply make Bella see reason, which is why Tanya is necessary, for she would not believe that everything was not her fault unless, Tanya herself tells her what she did," Alice explained.

I glanced up at Tanya, who staring off into space with a frown firmly planted on her face, my stomach turning at the fact that I was now dependant on Tanya's good will.

I turned back to Alice, as the understanding that if we acted soon, Bella might be with us in a matter of hours. "So what are we waiting for," I asked my sister, eagerly.

Alice looked around the room cautiously as she said, "It's not that simple. I have foreseen that Aro, Caius, and Marcus will not just let her go, so in order for the plan to work we are going to find a way in without detection."

A heavy silence huge in the room, which was broken when a few minutes later Jasper questioned calmly, "let me get this strait, your ingenious plan is to sneak into the Volturi? Alice, you do realize that that is impossible, don't you?" Jasper was right, there was a reason that the Volturi inspired fear in all of my kind, for they housed an army of the most extraordinary of gifts imaginable. To attempt to break in and steal one of their own, which I'm sure by now Aro would consider Bella a member of the guard, would be insane. Now that I knew the reasons behind Bella's departure, I would go to any lengths to make her see reason, however I was not sure if it was fair to ask the other to do the same.

"No," Alice countered, "not if we have a plan. If we are careful, I believe we will at least have a shot of getting to Bella and once she is with us we should have no problem making it the rest of the way."

Tanya's, breaking out of her thoughts, hissed, "I believe you left out the small detail of the fact that you were planning on breaking and entering when you were trying to get me here in the first place. You do realize what you are proposing is basically suicide?"

I suppressed a growl, however Jasper also questioned, "are you sure there is no other way. I mean surely the Volturi would listen to reason if we just go and talk to them."

I could tell Alice was quickly losing her patience as she replied, "no, if we go about it that way, we will not leave with Bella. You all have to understand that on top of Bella believing all of this is her fault, Aro has also told her that we no longer want her." She sent an apologetic look my way as she showed me a vision of Bella's face after Aro had informed her that we had left without a word. My hands clenched into fists, as I comprehended that ultimately Aro had masterly manipulated all of us so in the end he would get his prize.

Both Tanya and Jasper were eying Alice skeptically, however I said, "When is the best time to leave?"

"I think we should do this tomorrow night," Alice replied, "however, I believe it would be best if it were just Tanya and myself going to retrieve Bella, however."

"What," Jasper exclaimed, while I gritted my teeth, "I'm not letting you do this alone."

"We have a better chance if fewer of us go," Alice replied. I was about to tell that there was no way that Jasper and I would let her go alone, with Tanya of all people, however she said "please, Edward, we will have mere minutes to try and convince Bella and if you are there, she will be overly emotional, making it that much more difficult to convince her to come with us. And besides that, I will need you two to secure some type of escape, for if we do manage to convince Bella, we will need to make a fast exit." I sighed in defeat, not liking the fact that so much of this scheme was out of my control.

"Speaking of that, say we do pull of the impossible and make it out of there alive," Tanya asked, still seething, "what happens when the Volturi discover that she is gone and catch our scents?"

Alice appeared not to have an answer for this, so she simply replied, "I guess we will deal with that when the time comes."

"I say it's a idiotic plan," Tanya mumbled, before Alice sent her a look that silenced her abruptly.

I could not deny that there were so definite holes in the plan that largely depended on chance and luck. However, at least now I had the small hope that I might one day be able to hold Bella again and that was worth risking everything.

**Don't forget to review!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter, I always appreciate it.**

**Okay, to start this chapter, I had to banish images of Alice and Tanya scaling a stone wall while wearing designer, black ski masks that kept popping in my mind anytime I tried to imagine how they would get into the castle. However, I finally came up with an alternative, which I hope is a little more plausible, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Enjoy. **

**Tanya's POV**

"Well that went better than expected," I said, trying to keep my voice cheery as Alice and myself watched Edward and Jasper's figures recede in the distance. After a day of awkward planning and hunting in preparation for tonight, we were all now executing our part in the conspiracy.

"I think you were just lucky that Edward was severely depressed, because, trust me, I doubt he would have been so calm otherwise," Alice said darkly, before throwing me a light grey piece of fabric, before continuing, "make sure the hood is completely covering your face. I don't foresee any problems, but I don't want to take any chances."

"No," I replied inwardly grimacing at her implications. It had taken majority of the previous day to convince me to agree to this insanity in the first place and I still could not believe that I was about to risk my life for a child, whom a couple of weeks ago I had been happy to sell down the river. My whole being was yelling at me to sprint out of this deadly city and never look back, however the hope that had lit up Edward's face when we had told him that there may be a way for him to get Bella back had literally broke my dead heart. How could I destroy that hope, when I had already wreaked so much havoc? And there was the small matter of the fact that if I did this I would be able to return home, but of course the more noble reasons were the stronger motivator.

However, despite my reservations or motives, the plan was now set, which was the reason that I now was putting on the over-size cloak from the Volturi, keeping my questions of how Alice had gotten her hand on it to myself.

"Are you ready," came a high-pitched voice from the gray mass that now stood before me. I still could not shake the feeling that I was willingly walking toward my own death and I silently was thankful that the large grey hood was now hiding the fear that was surely coating my features.

"If you're ready to risk your life for the child, then I suppose I am too," I replied scathingly, trying to mask my reservations at what I was about to do.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that," exasperated Alice, as she turned toward the rotting piece of wood that served as a front door and we both exited the crumbling structure for what was hopefully the last time. As we mad our way silently through the sleeping town of Volterra, the buildings loomed menacingly on our sides, like mammoth monsters waiting to pounce.

Without warning, Alice halted her progress in the middle of an unremarkable alleyway and motioned for me to move forward, before pulling of the metal top of a rain gutter out of the stone street, creating a small, circular hole in the stone road. Like a shadow, Alice leapt gracefully into the hidden passage that existed underneath the city, disappearing from my view. My survival instincts screamed that this was the perfect opportunity to run and I briefly considered the possibility, looking longingly at the distant wall that would led to the open country and from there I could make my escape.

However, I was brought back to the present by a sharp voice that echoed quietly from the under my feet, growling, "don't even think about it, Tanya."

With a last glance at the wall and a sigh, I too stepped over the edge and joined Alice in the murky tunnel that lead would to my bonfire. I had only seen a vampire executed once in my existence and it was with a rolling stomach that I recalled the sickening perfume that had emitted from the flames. As we made our way to the end of the tunnel and crept into the abandoned lobby, I wondered if my funeral pyre would produce a similar gas.

"Where to next," I whispered under my breath afraid to take a step that would ultimately lead to that fire. My partner in crime, however, stopped and silently put her covered hands to where her temples should be if they were not hidden from view, before motioning to a smaller hallway to the left that was obviously seldom used.

We had been walking for about ten minutes when the pixie abruptly tackled me into what appeared to be a broom closet, due to the variety of cleaning supplies that adorned the walls. I was about to yell at her, despite her frantic motions of silence, when I heard two disembodied voices moving down the hall in our direction. My breath caught in fear, knowing that this was it, we would be discovered, they would take Alice and I would be burned. Alice was absolutely still next to me as the sounds came ever closer and the words of the vampires became audible through the closed door.

"It would have been kinder to tell her the truth or at least let her leave," said a slow voice that I was sure that I had heard before, but could not place.

"Ah, my dear brother, that would have been such a waste of potential," replied a tone that I knew to be Aro's, "and look how far she has already come. She is too much of an asset already."

"But if she requested it," said Aro's companion, sounding only mildly interested in the subject, "I wonder, would you allow her to depart?"

"I highly doubt that that would ever happen," Aro said in his bubbly tenor.

"You did not answer my question," pressed the nameless vampire.

"Very well, no," Aro admitted grudgingly his voice slowly growing softer as he moved further down the hall, "she made a deal when she first came to us and I would not take to the breaking of that agreement lightly. But you speak of events that will never occur. Now come, it seems like an eon has passed since we last fed and Heidi is due to return any moment."

I let out a breath of relief as I realized that, for the moment anyway, we were safe. Alice slipped out of the closet when the voices had finally vanished completely and began to continue on the way that we were headed before our detour. I shadowed her footsteps, while whispering, "you could have just told me to get in the closet, you didn't need to assault me."

"Oh please," came Alice's hushed soprano, "it's not like I hurt you and in case you didn't notice I did not really have a lot of time to think of an alternative. They made a spilt second decision to come this way and I just reacted."

"It still wouldn't not have killed you to say something," I mumbled under my breath.

"It doesn't matter now one way or the other," Alice replied, annoyed at my protests but obviously trying to avoid an argument, "we're here." She had stopped in front of an imposing black door that bore no markings to differentiate it from the other identical entryways that lined the corridor. I eyed it with apprehension, for some reason afraid of what that door would expose.

Alice's petite hand emerged from tons of grey material and softly pushed open the heavy hunk of wood to reveal a large bedroom and on the windowsill sat a lone female vampire, with her head resting on her knee's as she gazed out onto the moon lit night, appearing other worldly under the silver orbs gentle glow. At the sound of the door opening her head slowly turned revealingly a face that I did not recognize. No trace of the innocence that I had once scorned was left in her eyes and pain laced every expression and movement of this vampire to the point that it literally appeared excruciating for her to move an inch. Her broken form was heartbreaking to simply look at and I received a shock as I realized that I had done this; I had transformed the once naïve child into this lifeless corpse that sat before me.

"Yes," came Bella's emotionless voice, "what do you want?"

"Oh, Bella," Alice said, pushing back her hood, her voice almost breaking in grief, "what have they done to you?"

**BPOV**

Today I had focused solely on the physical aspects of fighting, which Jane, who was frustrated that I seemed to be the one exception to her power, had eagerly volunteered to help me with. As Jane had centuries of experience under her belt, I had spent the day being beaten within an inch of my life. I knew that if I was a human that I would have been black and blue from the blows that I had received today, however my hard, immortal skin thankfully betrayed nothing. I almost took a sick pleasure in the pain, due to the fact that since I had allowed myself to become numb, it was a rarity to just _feel_ any thing at all.

That night the other members of the guard were overly excited about an upcoming feast that was being brought in from abroad. I had retreated into my room hoping to escape the shrieks of pain and senseless begging that was sure to embellish the halls of the castle this evening. Taking a seat on the edge of the massive window, I allowed myself to slip into memories of happier times. I could never bring myself to think of _him_, however I could allow myself recall my faded memories of my mother laughing in the harsh sun of Arizona and my father's gruff voice as he welcomed to Forks, with only a bearable amount of pain.

I was in the middle of this reverie, when my door unexpectedly opened to reveal two members of the guard waiting outside my room. I could not understand why they would be here and not with the others in the feeding room, so I questioned them.

The shrill voice that had responded surprised me, but not nearly as much as the familiar face that emerged as the pixie-like vampire before me inquired, "what have they done to you?"

After I got over the shock of seeing Alice in the middle of this hell that I now called home, I found the semblance of emotions that I had not allowed myself to experience since the rest of her family had left with out a word.

Instantly, Alice was by my side engulfing my in a bone-cracking hug that I gave not response to, while the other figure remained motionless at the door.7777

Alice seemed concerned at my lack of motion, because the next question she asked was, "what's wrong, Bella?"

"Nothing," I lied, before asking flatly, "what are you doing here, Alice?"

"I'm here to take you home with me, of course," she replied, sounding slightly baffled at my confusion.

"Alice," I said carefully, not wanting to see her reaction to my words, "I don't know if the others told you, but this is my home now."

"No, Bella, you can't mean that," she replied in anguish, "everyone is waiting for you to come back to Alaska. We have to leave now." Her tiny hand slipped in mine and pulled gently, but I remained resolutely seated at the window. She could not have heard from the others yet what I had done or she would not be here and I shuddered at the fact that I would now have to tell her and witness her anger and disgust, as she too left without a word.

"No," I replied, feeling pain ripping through me as I broached the difficult subject, "they left. They left without a word because I committed an unforgivable crime. You don't understand, Alice, I deserve to be here."

"Bella, no one abandoned you. Aro manipulated the situation to his advantage or my family would have never have let you go so easily. And Bella, you need to understand the circumstances behind the… accident," Alice implored. I was shocked at the fact that she seemed to know what I had done, but was still sitting before me, asking me to leave with her and return to the Cullen's home. '_She must not know the entire story_,' argued a voice in the back of my head, '_if she__ did she would never be here now_.' All at once anger and sadness welled up in equal measure, both threatening to overflow and consume me.

"Accident?" I said harshly, ripping my hand from hers, "Alice, I killed someone, I leaned over some poor, defenseless human and drained every drop of blood from his body, how can you possibly call that an accident," I hung my hand and whispered, "I never even knew his name."

"Bella, look at me," Alice cried, "you don't understand the events that took place before that. You have to listen to me and her."

At her words the other vampire glided into my ornate room and dropped her large hood to reveal a mane of strawberry blonde hair. My shame mounted as I gazed upon the person who had caught me directly after I had preformed the horrible act. I expected to see the same look of horror that she had wore after she had found me with the human in my arms, but instead her face was covered in guilt and regret.

I could only surmise that she felt guilty that she had not gotten there in time to stop me, however I had to make her comprehend that my actions were in no way her fault. I suddenly felt the need to apologize to her for the awful scene that she had bore witness to. "Tanya," I mumbled, my voice breaking, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

**Don't forget to review!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**As always, thank you so much to all who reviewed. **

**One reviewer caught a mistake in the last chapter, where Aro and Marcus were passing the closet. I have no valid explanation as to why they would not pick up on Alice's and Tanya's smells, except maybe they were really into their conversation or looking forward to their upcoming meal and were too distracted to notice.**

**Tanya's POV**

An incomparable guilt flared up inside me as I watched this child, whose life I had for all intents and purposes destroyed, sit before me and apologize like I was some type of saint. I was hard to believe that someone could be so jaded that she really believed that her own actions had solely led up to the predicament that she was now in. I remembered Alice telling me that Bella believed that all of this was her fault, but never in a million years did I imagine this kind of a situation.

Now, the thought of what I had to do literally turned my stomach, for I could not imagine how this young vampire would react when she discovered that I was behind all her misfortunes. Only one thing was for certain and that was that when I finally was able to rip the words out of my mouth, I highly doubted that she would still be thanking me.

I expected Bella to break down into Alice's arms after she finished with her ridiculous declarations, however she just stared at me blankly as if she had used up her capacity for grief in the past weeks and all that was left was emptiness. While all of this was happening, Alice was sending me death glares from the corners of her eyes, egging me to just spit out what I had come to say, but I found the words caught in my throat.

Alice broke my train of thought by saying pointedly, "Tanya, I believe you have something to say?"

Her words brought me back to the current reality, where I was cowering before this broken creature, unable to confess my sins. I shook my head and finally decided to just be done with it, come what may.

"Bella," I began, cautiously, "you need to understand something, before you start spewing out apologies. Umm… well, you see," I fumbled over my words not knowing how to begin, while Bella continued to stare at me in confusion, "the Volturi didn't necessarily come to Alaska on their own."

"What…" Bella began, however I held my hand up. Now that I had started, I knew I couldn't be interrupted or else I would never be able to say what needed to be said.

"I may have possibly given them a call and told them about you," I said much too fast for human ears, however I knew that both Alice and Bella would be able to comprehend me, "and when that didn't work, I may have become desperate and allowed you to kill that human in the farmhouse."

Alice scoffed at my evasive delivery of the facts, while, beside her, Bella's eye's brows knitted together, as she considered what I said.

"But why," she whispered, her eyes holding the first hint of disbelief, as if she thought I was lying to her.

I remembered weeks ago a livid Edward, demanding the same question of me and me being unable to give it to him. However, for some reason, I wanted to tell her the embarrassing reason that I had kept concealed from the male portion of the Cullen clan.

"I coveted you for Edward, "I began in a whisper, "You don't need all the murky detail, but basically I made an advancement at one point and he turned me down. I had always held the hope that one-day things would work out, however then you came along and I could see my whole future that I had envisioned crumbling before my eyes. I couldn't do nothing, so I did the insane – I called the Volturi. And then when that did not work, I switched to plan B, which was also lunacy and is why we are all here." I said all of this numbly, not looking up to see how Bella or Alice was taking this piece of information. I expected any moment to feel two stone-like hands making a play for my throat, however moments passed and only silence filled the room, causing me to examine the Bella's face, for want of answers. There, instead of the cold anger I found stunned betrayal and disappointment.

"You did all of this," she said, mostly to herself, before looking up at me at me with a confused look and said, slightly louder, "I trusted you and you have been planning this from the beginning?"

"Yes," I whispered, not knowing what else to say.

Finally, I heard Bella take in a large breath and say in her original emotionless voice, "and why are you here now, to tell me you are with Edward?"

With fire in my eyes, I said with passion, "no! Trust me, that is the last thing on Edward's mind right now. He loves you, Bella, and only you; I was just to wrapped up in myself to see it before."

**BPOV**

I must have defied the normal rules that went with becoming a vampire and fallen asleep, because that was the only way that any of this made any sense at all. However, the all too real sounds and sights of my surroundings proved that I was still very much awake, which could only mean that Tanya was standing here before me, telling me that she was the one who started creating the mess that was now my life.

I know I should have been screeching and ranting after this discovery, however I could not find the will to even raise my voice, for I was too far gone in my shock at the unlikely turn of events.

Foolishly, the first thing that popped in my head concerned Edward and the relationship that Tanya had mentioned between them. Thinking she was simply here to gloat and Alice was here to take pity on me, I reverted back to my hardened exterior and asked the forbidden question. She surprised me with her answers, however, not even her reassurances could remove my doubts where Edward was concerned. Even if all she said was the truth, I was still not completely innocent in the matter, for the facts did not erase the fact that I had willingly taken a life.

Tanya eyed me, as if waiting for me to make some type of move in a blind rage, yet there was not even time for my shock to wear off into any semblance of anger, due to the fact that in the next second a black haired, pixie was standing before me with pleading eyes.

Alice turned to me brightly and pulled me out of my dark thoughts, by saying, "so you see Bella, this has all just been a very large misunderstanding." She pulled my hand again as if to leave and stated gently, "come on Bella, there is not much time left. We have to leave, now, if we are going to make it to the exit."

"That still doesn't change what I did," I whispered, "despite who lead me down the path, it does not alter the fact that I did a monstrous act."

At these words, Alice exasperated, "I agree with you that it is tragic that a human had to die, Bella, but do you honestly think that you are the first vampire to succumb to their baser instincts?" I looked up at her in shock, as she continued, "in fact, our entire family, save Carlisle, has killed a human at one time or another. Trust me, I remember the feeling, but you can't allow this guilt to deter you from any chance of happiness. You have eternity ahead of you, and while you can't erase the past, you can take it as a lesson for the future." As she said this her eye's briefly blinked out of focus and she appeared to slouch slightly, before quickly regaining her balance and shaking her head before continuing with her reasonings.

On some level, Alice was right. Even if Edward didn't want me, I knew that I did not want to spend the rest of my existence within these oppressing walls. However, leaving would mean that I would probably have to inflict myself on the Cullen's for a little while longer, until I decided what my next step was. '_Not a chance_,' I thought, '_if I leave, I won't force myself on the Cullen's any longer. They don't deserve that_.' I briefly compared the life of a nomad to the life I would have here and came to the conclusion that while this life may suit some, it was definitely not designed for me. However then I remembered one of the primary reasons why I came here in the first place.

"But I can't leave, even if I wanted to. I made a deal with Aro that if I joined he would leave your family alone. And I can guarantee you, Alice, I will not to put your family in danger for something as superficial as my own happiness," I stated.

I could tell that Alice was dangerously close to banging her head against the wall in frustration, "damn it, Bella, can you please stop being so stubborn and self-sacrificing! Once we get out of here we can eventually deal with that… minor detail, but right now time is running out and we have to go. I can promise you that you will cause more damage by staying then by leaving with us now." Alice was now practically yanking my arm off in her rush to get me out the door, however I still had my doubts about leaving. However, Alice's urgency forced me to make a split second decision, in which I choose to follow my own selfish whims.

"Should I tell them that I'm leaving," I finally asked Alice, not wanting to have to cause unnecessary problems.

"No," Alice answered sharply, "they will refuse to let you go. Like I said before, if we are going to leave, now is the time."

So, with a last glance around the cold room that I had lived in for the past few weeks, Alice hurried me through the door and into a future where I would embrace the nomadic lifestyle.

**APOV**

As I pleaded with Bella, I could feel myself beginning to lose consciousness, as a vision tried to pull my under and reveal some unknown faucet of the future. However, even though I kept myself lucid, I could still catch glimpses of what was yet to come, as different settings wove in and out of my eyesight through my speech. It appeared someone had caught our scent or was going to catch it very soon and after that, it would be only a matter of seconds before the entire might of the Volturi would be set upon us.

However, Bella, as I had foreseen, was being incredibly difficult in her acceptance of the facts, causing me to finally to lose my patience. Even though I knew that when Bella finally came to the decision to leave that she did not have any intention to return to my family, however this was neither the time or the place to argue with her, especially when I had gotten her to agree to come at all.. I would save that conversation for when, well really it was more of an if at this point, we made it out of here alive.

So, I held my tongue when I saw Bella wondering the deserted places of the world as she made up her mind to take up life as a nomad and firmly grabbed her arm, in order to hauling her through the door.

"Put your hoods up," I hissed to both Tanya and Bella, who did not seem to get the gravity of the situation, but then they were not constantly getting a stream of visions that feature us getting hunted down by twenty or more vampires.

I took off at a fast human pace, afraid to break into a full out run due to the uncertainty of the situation, as Bella and Tanya trailed behind me. "No," I whispered to myself, as I saw that the guards had now put up the alarm and that our time was dangerously close to its conclusion.

"Follow me," I said, in a hushed, hurried tone as I made a sharp left and quickly rushed down another hallway. Finally I found what I was looking for – an open window. It was not my orginally planned method of escape, but desperate times called for desperate measure. So without pausing further, I motioned rapidly toward the large window, for I could see the guards closing in within a matter of seconds.

Tanya was the first to reach the opening in the wall and looked back at me speculatively as she took in the five story drop.

"Go," I growled, knowing that there was no time for hesitation, for every moment that past brought the guards ever closer to our current location.

Tanya nimbly climbed up and readied herself for her leap, however at the last second she turned to me with doubtful eyes. "Alice, are you sure we should leave this way," Tanya asked, for some reason appearing apprehensive about her eminent fall, as her hands gripped the stone sides of the window for dear life.

I minutely wondered why on earth a vampire as old as Tanya seemed to be even phased by the fact that she was about to hurl herself into a drop that would kill a human. "Tanya, move, now," I whispered harshly, however when she continued to stare at the ground in what could have been fear, I stuck my hands out and gave her a light shove, after all she was taking up far too much time.

Tanya flailed briefly through the air, before completing a perfect landing and looking somewhat shaken.

"Bella, it's your turn," I said urgently, to which she nodded and prepared to mount the window in the fashion that Tanya had preceded her. However, she did not even get her first foot in position when we heard footsteps from behind and a malicious voice say, "now where, pray tell, do you think you are going?"

**Don't forget to review!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Thank you to all who took the time to review. I actually didn't plan on this chapter, but I accidentally left out something that I met to put in the previous chapter and here is the result of that. Hope you enjoy.**

**EPOV**

The past two days had been filled with preparations for the upcoming flight and in those days I could hardly keep my anticipation at bay. After almost a month of separation, I could not believe that tonight I would finally be able to do what I previously though impossible, leave Italy with Bella.

Alice had contacted Carlisle, and while he was necessarily excited about the extreme measures we were taking, he was not happy when he discovered Aro's part in the deception. So, at this moment, a private plane was waiting to take off at the nearby airport and Jasper and I were impatiently waiting just outside the city in less inconspicuous stolen car for the rest of our party to arrive. Jasper was nervously pacing just outside the car, while I sat in the drivers seat, frozen in stress while pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger.

In my tension, my thoughts wondered to all the heinous things that could possibly go wrong this evening. Besides the obvious, I considered the probability that Bella would not even want to leave the castle. From what Alice had told me, I now knew that Bella had still cared for me when she had left, however a lot could happen in a month and she might not still feel the same way after experiencing a different way of life. The thought twisted at my heart that had made a recent return to my chest and doubt flooded every inch of me.

I still could not believe that I had allowed Alice to go with Tanya alone, especially when so much was at stake. Jasper had been considering all night, that if they were somehow caught, then Tanya had the potential to betray Bella and Alice again, which, of course, was a very real possibility. I did truly understand Alice's logic behind the decision, however I hated the feeling of being so out of control of the situation.

The moon had made its way to the center of the black sky, when both Jasper and I heard a vampire's rapid approach to our current position. I jumped out of the car to join Jasper, thinking that it could possibly be one of the Volturi, however we both relaxed as we saw the hint of strawberry blond hair in the distance.

We both narrowed our eyes, scanning the landscape for the other two that would surely be shortly appearing in Tanya's wake, yet after several seconds crawled by, no one materialized. By the time that Tanya reached the car, I was already frantically muling over all the tragedies that could explain why Tanya was here alone.

"Where are they," Jasper asked, his voice cracking in his panic.

"Well hello to you too," Tanya said nervously, her eyes darting between both of our faces before coming to rest in the negative space between us.

"Tanya," I implored sharply.

"Alright," Tanya said in a defeated tone and putting her hands up as a universal sign of surrender, "we were being followed, so we decided to make a quick exit through the window and I went first. Evidentially, the guards must have caught up with them before they could follow. I promise, I waited for several minutes, but no one appeared."

The words were not even entirely out of her mouth, when I instinctively resumed my place behind the wheel of the older car and turned the key, causing the engine to roar to life. Without a word, Jasper was by my side in the passengers seat, however Tanya remained in her previous position, looking at us with an incredulous look covering her features.

"Are you insane," she hissed, "what good will it do to go back?"

I ignored her redundant question and growled, "are you coming or not?"

With a loud sigh she moved gracefully to occupy one of the back seats, taking her time as she went. As we waited for Tanya to preform the simple action of sitting I heard Jasper mutter under his breath, "oh come on," and heard the shattering of plastic as several large cracks formed in the steering wheel due to my frustrated grasp. Before she had even closed the door all the way, I slammed down on the accelerator, causing the wheels to squeal loudly into the night.

Self-hatred coursed through my dead veins as I closed the distance between myself and the cold city and I cursed myself for being so stupid, as to listen to Alice's pleas that she and Tanya go alone. Now, both Bella and Alice were enduring who knew what in a place that Jasper and I could never hope to penetrate. It seemed almost cruel how close I had been to regaining my reason for living again, only to be told that new barriers and hurdles had been formed to keep me from ever regaining the peace I once had. It seemed as if the very universe was set against Bella and I from the beginning, however I refused to lose her again. As I thought this, I urged more speed out of the car, hoping against hope that it was not to late.

**APOV**

My heart sank to my stomach as I turned around to face the guards who had caught up to us just in time to curdle our escape attempt. The child-like vampire who had come to Alaska and three others whose names I did not know stared back at Bella and I with murder written across their face.

I briefly considered just grabbing Bella and falling out the window that was just inches away, eying the distance and weighing our chances. However before I could even form a cohesive plan I felt an unimaginable pain rake through my body. I let out a scream and hit the ground with a thud, as it seemed as if knives were being jabbed into every part of my anatomy to a point far past any type of logical endurance. Yet, just as quickly as it began, the pain ceased completely, leaving a numb feeling in its place. I hastily straightened myself and looked over my shoulder to find Bella giving the small girl a glare that would cause most rational vampires to cower, but the girl simply stared back with equal ferocity.

"Now, now, Bella," she said tauntingly, "you know that Aro would be very disappointed if you left without saying good bye."

"Jane, was that really necessary," Bella hissed, nodding her head in my direction.

Jane shrugged with a smug look covering her face as she said innocently, "how was I to know if she was going to attack or try and run. Speaking of which, I'm sure the Aro, Cauis, and Marcus would love to know what you were planning on doing by leaping out a window at one o'clock in the morning."

"I'm sure," Bella replied, her face betraying no fear at the threat.

"Well, as we are all in agreement," Jane said sweetly, "why don't you and your friend wait in this lovely room while I go and inform them of your actions and I'll let you explain your intentions. And don't worry there are no windows in here to tempt you." She gestured to a room across the hall and led us to the door. "I won't try and run, if I were you, as I will be leaving some of the guard to watch the door," Jane said, before closing us and hurrying down the hall.

"Well, she seems nice," I stated, dryly.

"You have no idea," Bella said darkly, before putting her head in her hands, leaning against the wall, and sliding to the floor and whispering, "this is a disaster. I don't understand why you would do something like that Alice..."

As Bella continued her rant, the stone room faded from view and her voice faded, only to be replaced with Jasper, Edward, and Tanya speeding down a lonely road with Volterra rising in the distance.

When I opened my eye's, Bella was watching my intently and abruptly asked, "what did you see? Did you see what Aro will do when he discovers what we have done?"

"No, that decision is yet to be made," I said softly, not wanting to think about what was to come, "however, apparently Edward, Jasper, and Tanya are on their way here."

"What," Bella asked in surprise, "Edward is here, in Italy?"

I looked at her sadly, before saying, "Bella, he never left. He went with Carlisle and the others to get you after you came here, but Aro led him to believe that you didn't want him any more. He was devastated, however he refused to leave. Tanya wasn't lying when she said he still loves you."

Her face seem to take on an array of indiscernible emotions as I related to her the events of the past few weeks outside the castle, disbelief being the predominate one.

"I'm sure," she said, in her detached voice.

"Why is that so hard for you to believe," I asked.

"I could never understand why he could love me in the first place, his _mistake_," she said the last word spitefully, before continuing, "and it makes even less sense that after all that has happened that he still would." She explained this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're honestly your own worst enemy," I said shaking my head, "I wish you could have seen him two days ago, when he thought there was no hope. He was a wreck, only the promise of seeing you again has brought back any resemblance of life back in him."

Pain crossed her face as she bowed her head in submission and whispered, "then Marcus was right and the past month was all for nothing."

"Yes, as Tanya told you before, everything that has happened has been finely concocted by both Tanya and Aro," I replied, "their plan was to deceive and in the end it worked beautifully." I probably would have jumped for joy that she had finally gotten the idea through her thick head that she could be loved and I could almost bet that, if we were not under the power of others, her future would most likely now include the rest of our family. However, I could not forget the current circumstances that left little room for any time of happiness.

"Yes and here we are" she agreed bitterly, staring off into space and becoming absorbed in her own thoughts. However, after a few seconds her head snapped into attention as she said in a panicked voice, "Alice, he can't come here. It's bad enough that you are here to take the fall with me, but it would be idiocy for them to come and put themselves in danger as well."

"Yes," I agreed my chest tightening at the thought that each second that passed brought Jasper and my brother unnecessarily closer to the hazard that we now faced, "I doubt it will help our position either way, but regardless they are on their way."

"Everything is such a mess," Bella whispered to nothing in particular and I couldn't help but agree with her. From my visions, I could tell that Jane had yet to reach Aro due to the fact that he was currently in a meeting with Caius. However, it was only a matter of time before she would convey to him what we had done and I shuddered to think of the outcome of that conversation.

Minutes melted by and our fear mounted, when abruptly a pair of footsteps stopped just before the door and a familiar voice questioned the guards as to why they were standing aimlessly before our door. One, nameless guard relayed to the first vampire the events that had recently occurred, giving the first man our names. We both held our breath as the recent arrival dismissed the sentinels with an authoritative tone and we listened as their footsteps faded off in the opposite direction. After a second had passed, the large door creaked open slowly to reveal a face that I had only ever seen in my incursions to the future.

**Don't forget to review!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter**.

**BPOV**

The warmth and satisfaction that had flown through me on the discovery that, as impossible as it might seem, Edward still loved me, had quickly dissipated when it suddenly hit me that he was on his way to the one place on earth that he should be running from. All the emotions that I had been bottling up over the previous month seem to plow through me with full force as I took in these overwhelming realities and comprehended that all the pain and dejection that I had endured the over what seemed like an entirety was all for nothing. I had only made matters worse by coming here and once again I was to blame in the destruction of the Cullen's well being. For now, not only Edward, Jasper, and myself were in very real danger, but Alice as well.

These all consuming thoughts felt as though they were physically crushing me with their impact me as I muttered, "Everything is such a mess."

It was now only a matter of time before Jane reappeared and we were taken to face our uncertain fate. However, the next moments brought the last voice I would have expected to the threshold of our prison and after only a brief conversation he opened the heavy door revealing his imposing form.

"Marcus," I breathed, "what are you doing here?"

"I believe the more pressing question, Bella," Marcus said, in his ever stoic tone, "is, what are you doing here?"

I bowed my head, unable to meet his probing eyes, however Alice's voice emerged from the silence, "I came to retrieve her. You must have seen how heart sick she has been and I can assure you that my brother has been no better. I had to do something."

"You are Alice, the fortune teller," Marcus said seriously, "my brother's have lusted after your power since they first heard of its existence. I cannot tell you how much it will please them to have you live among us."

Alice winced at Marcus's implication and said, "I have no plans to stay as of now."

Marcus merely shrugged, returned his eyes to me, and said, "So, correct me if I am wrong, but you were attempting to flee?"

"Yes," I muttered, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here any longer." The next words came out in an incoherent sob as hysteria gripped me, "and he is on his way here, they all are."

"And who might I ask is he," Marcus inquired, alert to the fear in my tone.

"Edward," I mumbled, trying to regain my calm, however a sudden idea struck me as I glanced up at Marcus and realized that this might be my chance. Before I had time to think about how inappropriate my request was, I was saying, "Please, Marcus, you have the ability to help us. I was so wrong before, but with your assistance everything could be made right."

Marcus looked briefly taken aback at the sudden change in the conversation and then finally broke his gaze from my pleading eyes, "I'm truly sorry, Bella, however I would not dare and cross my brothers in such a manner, for they are all I have left in this world. I am afraid that this matter is out of my hands."

As he made the movements to leave, the phrase, 'for they are all I have left in this world', stuck out for some unknown reason. Suddenly, a latent memory resurfaced featuring Marcus saying "she was killed and he was left to face the empty ages of this earth without her" and everything seemed to click into place. All of Marcus's sullen silences and his insistence that I treasure my own 'gift' as he had called it finally made prefect sense as I said as he was about to open the door, "it was you wasn't it. You were Didyme's mate, weren't you?"

"I cannot see how that is at all relevant," he growled in warning, his hand tightening on the iron handle and Alice sending me a questioning look.

Normally, I would have stopped there, however this matter was far too important. If successful, this debate could be the hidden answer to all my problems, so passionately I said, "but then you must understand, you of all people! You yourself pleaded with me to see the truth in your words before; now I have and I would do anything to rectify my errors in judgment. However to do this I need your help. Would you honestly tear a family apart and abandon another to your fate?"

"How dare you," Marcus hissed, trembling in rage, "how dare you place that kind of responsibility on my shoulders! You were the one to place yourself in our hands and now you are asking me to betray my brothers in order to help retract on your promise to stay here. And, what is worse, you bring her name…" his voice broke, "into to the argument in a misguided attempt to win my favor. But I am here to inform you that I will not be swayed into treachery so easily. And you, you will deal with the repercussions of your actions on your own."

The impossibility of the situation seemed to crash over me in torturous waves as I whispered, "then you condemn us all."

He continued to glare at me for several moments at my defeated form, before I began to detect the smallest ounce of softening in his gaze. Slowly, his face also crumbled and he let out a sigh as he said sadly, "you must recognize that I do not wish to do this, but you have put me in an impossible position."

"I understand," I said dejectedly, "and I am sorry for asking, it was unfair to you."

His eyes stayed glued to me for another couple of minutes, yet he appeared to be lost in a world that only he could see. Unexpectedly his came back to the present and beside me Alice smiled wide as he mumbled, "go."

"What," I asked doubtfully.

"I told you that you have my permission to leave," Marcus said in a much stronger voice.

"But, why," I questioned, while Alice eyed me as if I was insane to question our good fortune.

Marcus locked his gaze on me, before saying somberly, "because, it's what she would have wanted."

I nodded to him in a moment of quiet companionability and could not help but pity this broken man. Sadness filled me as I comprehended that he would never again find peace again in this world and I wished more than anything that I too could granted him what he so desperately longed for. Silence hung heavily in the air at the conclusion, as the entire room though over Marcus's confession, however Alice cautiously broke the silence by saying quietly with confusion on her face, "come on, Bella, we should go."

However, at the moment, I was rendered immobile and simply stared at Marcus and said, "won't you be in trouble with Aro and Caius."

"Trust me, it is nothing I cannot handle," he replied, falling back to his normal emotionless façade, "but you should take your sister's advice and leave now, because I highly doubt that my brothers will be as understanding in this matter."

As Alice pushed me past him, I briefly took his hand and squeezed it. He seemed to recoil from the unexpected contact as I said, "I don't think I could find the right words to express how grateful I am for your choice."

"It was never a choice," he whispered, "This is the only path that gives me piece of mind, for one day I will leave this earth and I would not want to find that she has abandoned me out of disappointment."

"I don't think you will ever have to worry," I said back, gently.

"Well, we will see, in the end," he replied.

Again, Alice tugged gently on my grey cloak and said, "we really need to go now."

"Goodbye, Marcus," I muttered, "and thank you."

"Fare well," he said, however we had not moved more than a few steps when he added quickly, "Isabella?"

"Yes," I replied, my terror mounting while my mind went over the possibility that he had changed his mind within the last couple of seconds.

"Promise me that you will never waste it," he stated, quieting my fears.

Alice looked at me, as if to ask what 'it' was, however I ignored her unspoken questions and I simply answered, "never," before disappearing, with Alice down the hall and into the empty reception area. From there we took the tunnel that I had once trend down in my darkest night to a place that I had allowed myself to become imprisoned in my own head. My mind was reeling at the scene that had just taken place and the obstacles that still loomed ahead in the future. However I quickly silenced this reservations and allowed myself to enjoy simply enjoy the happiness of the moment, however short lived it would be, as I emerged with new hope into the brilliant sun of a new day.

**A/N: So, as you can probably tell, this story only has about another three or four more chapter to go. I hope you liked this resolution and I can promise that the next chapter will definitely be Edward and Bella's reunion. **

**Don't forget to review!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. **

**Tanya's Point of View**

The cars tires squealed in protest on the stone street, as the car skidded to a sudden halt in front an unremarkable business building that provided the façade for the entrance of castle of Volterra. I tried to banish my fears, but all I could see when I looked at the place was a roaring fire that waited to overcome us the moment we stepped through the threshold. It was absolute insanity to just go storming in and demanding two vampires that had obviously broken the law.

"Maybe we should take a minute and think about our next move before we go barging in," I suggested quietly. And while they were thinking it over, perhaps they would miraculously change their minds and cut their loses. However, their harsh glares informed me that any type of display of normal sanity was out of the question.

Without a word they both exited the vehicle and made their way toward the glass door, hiding in the exaggerated shadows that the coming dawn produced. Sighing heavily and cursing myself for getting into a situation like this, I got out of the car and prepared to follow them. However, just as Edward was about to place his hand on the steel handle that would revel the entrance way, his cell phone blared loudly from his pocket.

He quickly lifted the device and examined the number with an arched eyebrow, as if he did not recognize the number. Yet in the next second, he had answered the phone with a look of shock as a high-pitched voice echoed from the other end.

"Alice," Edward said in disbelief, causing Jasper's face to break in confusion.

Quickly, she told us how Bella and her had managed to escape the Volturi completely unharmed and were now waiting for them in a building that lay on the outskirts of the city. She rambled off the address and directions, as the two male vampires before me wore expressions of awe and disbelief.

"Why did they just let you go," Edward began to question, as if he thought that the call was a clever ruse designed by the Italian masterminds that had already wreaked so much havoc.

"I explain when you get here and I suggest you leave soon, as the sun will be fully rising in about three minutes," Alice said clearly annoyed for some reason at Edwards questions.

"Fine, we are on our way," Edward replied.

"Bella and I will be waiting," Alice said rapidly, before the line cut off.

The second that Edward flipped the phone closed, we were all in the car again and once again speeding dangerously through the narrow streets. I could feel the excitement and release radiating from Jasper and mirrored on Edwards expression. Through the foreign emotions that invaded my system, I could discern feelings of numbness that the whole ordeal was finally about to reach its conclusion. After everything that had happened I was as physically and mentally worn as was possible for a vampire to be. I cringed as I envisioned the coming hours which were to be spent on a plane that consisted of the two happy couples that I had almost succeeded in tearing apart. Well, if nothing else I would be in for an interesting experience.

However, then it hit me, no one had ever promised that I was guaranteed passage home with the others. In fact, in England Alice had made it clear that even if I did assist her that I was still not welcomed in Alaska at the moment.

The vicious grip of terror settled upon me, as I comprehended the fact that in the end I would have to slip into the pointless lifestyle that I had taken up in before Alice intervened. Once again I would be left completely alone in a foreign country to fulfill the Cullen's idea of justice. As we pulled up to house that was located slightly outside the town's limits, I watched forlornly as Edward and Jasper rushed to the door without a second thought and realized that while they had achieved there desired end, I had simply reached the end of any form of companionship.

**BPOV**

"Alice, we can't just break into someone's house," I said as we backtracked to one of the smaller homes that littered the extreme edges of the city.

"Of course we can and we will," Alice replied, in a tone that suggested that she was explaining a simple concept to a small child, "no one is home and they have a phone. Besides, it is not as if we are going to be stealing anything. Just make sure you hold your breath and you'll be fine."

"We could just go and meet them," I countered as she began to pick the lock of the red door, which promptly swung open to reveal a modest entryway.

"No," she responded in a distracted voice as she dismantled the alarm system, "they are too far into the city by now, which would mean that we would either have to test your control in an extremely crowded city or I would have to leave you alone. And as neither of these options sound very appealing and the sun is about to make an appearance, we might as well relax for a moment." While she made her way through her ramblings, she strode over to the worn sofa and plopped down as if she committed this particular crime everyday, as I eyed her incredulously.

Far too nervous of the coming meeting to argue with her logic, I simply shook my head and went to join her on the adjacent recliner. By this time, Alice was dialing away on an ancient phone that sat on a delicate table next to her and was thrumming her tiny fingers on the armrest as the phone continued into its second ring.

"Come on," she muttered to herself, "pick up." For a second, a now familiar look of distress overtook her features and her entire body tensed. I felt myself beginning to panic and imagine the myriad of things that could have gone wrong, however my convoluted train of thought was broken as a smooth voice echoed through the speaker.

After relaying the barest outline of the crazy events that had occurred last night and giving them a warning of the impeding arrival of the sun, Alice daintily set the phone on the receiver.

"Their coming," I question hoarsely, unable to process the fact that I was actually going to see Edward after nearly a month apart.

With a tiny smile playing on her lips, Alice replied, "they should be here in a few minutes."

Happiness combined witih uncertainty clenched my stomach as my mind began to spiral out of control and fall back all the terrible possibilities and uncertainties that I had been over the past weeks.

"Calm down, Bella," Alice said in an amused tone, as she noticed that I was now mercilessly gnawing my bottom lip.

"What," I asked, coming out of a daze.

"Nothing," she laughed in a now buoyant mood, as we heard a car slam to a stop just outside the door.

In a flash she disappeared into the foyer of the unfamiliar home, apparently too eager to contain herself to wait the few seconds it would take for the others to cross the extra feet in between. I, on the other hand, remained absolutely motionless, unable to find the strength to move an inch as every conceivable emotion flared erratically.

I heard a door slam and a quick exchange of words, which almost drove me to move from my statue-like posture. However, before the feeling could fully return to my limbs, he was there. Far better than any daydream that I had incurred in the past dark weeks, Edward stood before me in all his glory in the glaring sun that filtered in through a window that was placed directly behind me.

We both merely stood there for a moment, drinking the sight of each other greedily as the seconds slipped by. He seemed to, like me, be at a loss for words as he slowly closed the distance and enveloped me in an iron grasp that shown no sign of loosening anytime soon. Burrowing my head into his chest and inhaling his intoxicating aroma, I finally felt myself knit back together and revealed in the overwhelming feeling of completeness that plowed through my veins. The next moment his lips were on mine, pressing down lightly at first and then building into an unrelentingly passion.

All the pain and longing that that had been experienced in the past month was conveyed as we remained intertwined in the warm morning sunlight. Before, our relationship had not had time to develop past the tentative first steps, however now new venues became vividly apparent as we began to explore previously uncharted territory.

However, before my thoughts could wonder any further down this new path, I heard a soft growl issue from Edwards chest as two sets of footsteps slowly approached the entryway of the tiny room.

Suddenly, brought crashing back to the fact that we were still in Volterra in someone else's living room. I tried to jump away, however Edward's grip made this impossible, so I settled on a more dignified position next to him.

"Not that I want to interrupt," began Alice in a lightly amused tone as her eyes took in my slightly ashamed face, "however, unless you want to take up a permeant residence here, we should leave now."

If I still had the ability, I would have been beat red in embarrassment, however Edward simply answered in a composed and slightly annoyed voice, "of course, Alice. Thank you for reminding us."

Now Alice was visibly shaking in silent laughter as she said, "any time."

Edward rolled his eyes before following Alice and Jasper to the front door with his arm still firmly planted around my waist. I could not believe that in twenty-four hours my depressing world had so rapidly been changed into this place where it seemed nothing could go wrong. I knew that eventually we would have to talk about all the reasons behind the events of the last month and all of its future implications, however at the moment I refused to think of that upcoming conversation, as contentment swirled within me.

Sticking to the shadows we made our way into the dark car, where, next to me, I discovered a lone vampire peering resolutely in the opposite direction,refusing to meet my questioning eyes.

**Don't forget to review!**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I'm sorry for the time gap. School, friends, holidays, and general procrastination all contributed to my unexpected hiatus. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**BPOV**

I believed that the gas pedal would soon give out from the pressure that Alice seemed to be exerting on the stripe of plastic as the countryside sped by in a blur of unidentifiable color. Beside her, Jasper was ridge from what I could only assume were the raging emotions that were most likely flowing through the cramped metal tube. For in the back seat sat Edward and Tanya, with me sandwiched in the small space in-between the two seats, effectively marring the feeling of absolute happiness that I should have been experiencing. Instead, there was simply an awkward silence as Tanya looked determinedly the dark window and Edward sat stiffly beside me, with his hand grasping mine as if he never intended to let go.

In the mist of this tension, I stared at mine and Edward's entwined hands. Before, our relationship had not had the time required to develop into what it could have been and we had only began getting to know one another. However now, with eternity literally stretched before us, I frightened and excited me as to what the future could hold. It was hard not to allow my mind carry me off with the prospect of this glowing promise, however I had to reminded myself that nothing ever came without a cost. After all this was not a fairy tale where Snow White goes riding off into the sunset, but reality, or at least a version of it.

The main thing that allowed me to remained grounded from my fantasy was sitting right beside me. Rapidly, her topaz eyes broke from the glass and briefly met my own, before returning to her original pose. I should have been absolutely writhing in anger after all that her actions had put me through, however I was simply mentally tired and ready for the entire ordeal to be over. Throughout the past couple of weeks I had literally been to hell and back again and had dealt with all the many extremes of emotions. That life that I had in Alaska seemed no more than a vague dream now and it would be hard enough reestablishing my life there, let alone with Tanya in it. However, from this side of the experience, I could only looked at this woman in pity, due to the fact that I could not even imagine the level of desperation she must have dealt with to even consider betraying her family and friends in the way she did.

"We're here," Edward quietly whispered into my ear.

As his voice pulled me out of the recesses of my mind, I realized that Alice in fact, stopping next to a sleek, sliver plane that was parked on the outskirts of a small airport and that the soft purr of the engine had been silenced. I say Edward minutely nod in Alice's direction and her return a small smile as they concluded what I could only assume was one of their mental conversations. In the next second, Jasper and Alice had disappeared into the aircraft and Edward had exited the car and was holding the door open, waiting patiently for me to follow his movements. As I left the car, I noticed Tanya going, not in the direction of the plane, but toward the door that led to Alice's abandoned drivers seat and realized that she had no intentions of following us. Her shoulders were held awkwardly as if she was trying her hardest to show no signs of in defeat, making me come the conclusion that this was not her decision.

Just then, either Alice or Jasper started the jets of the airplane with a monstrous roar and a large gust of wind that caused my hair to begin to fly wildly and obscure my vision of Tanya's forlorn expressions as she glanced at our ride home and placed herself in front of the wheel. It would have been so easy to just allow her to drive away and pretend that she never existed, but I do not believe that I could have lived with that choice. And so I turned away from Edward's form and made an irrational spilt second decision that I myself did not even completely understand.

**Tanya's POV**

As the car halted, I realized that my time was officially up and that this would be the spot that the Cullens and I permanently parted ways. My heart twisted at the thought of once again being left without a home, however I refused to give them the satisfaction of making a scene. So, while everyone was preparing to leave, I slipped into the driver's seat and stared morosely at the endless stretch of highway in before me, trying not to envision the prospect of the upcoming months that would be spent in solitude. I would have driven away without so much as a backward glance, yet a soft tap on the window hindered my planned escape.

"I was under the impression we were in a hurry, something about running from an Italian mob of vampires," Bella said, "and I doubt the airport would mind if you just left the car here."

"What are you talking about," I muttered annoyed to be impeded with the girl's meaningless chatter. I did not even bother to take a glance in her direction, not wanting to see the expression on her face.

"I meant that it would probably take awhile for you to park the car," Bella mumbled, clearly becoming flustered in her speech.

My temper flared at her sarcastic words and I finally turned to glare in her direction as I replied, "I have to go."

I tapped on the gas, however her hold on the side of the window tightened and the car remained motionless, while the engine revved. Anger and humiliation welled up and I realized that I needed to get as far away from this place as possible before whatever it was that was holding me together at this moment broke and could expose any trace of weakness. I saw red as, I turned to confront the ignorant child that was putting me through this unnecessary disgrace.

"Let go of the car," I growled menacingly.

"No," she responded, lifting her chin in a defiant manner, "the plane is about to leave."

"I don't know if you have been informed, but according to the _great_ Cullen clan, I seem unable to board that particular plane," I spat.

"They are not going to just leave you here in Italy," Bella said, as if stating a simple fact of life. Her naive attitude on the subject only proving to upset me further.

"They can and they will," I said, wanting to end this pointless conversation and leave before I committed another action that I would be made to regret, "now let go before I make you."

Her eyes flashed dangerously at my words, however she lifted her hands in surrender and bit out, "have it your way then. Run away from your problems and tear your family apart that seems to be your forte, after all."

"I just refuse to go where I am not wanted," I replied at her dig.

"I amazed you would give up the ones who loved you so easily," she retorted.

"It's not like I really have an option," I snapped.

"Maybe I am giving you an option," she lashed back.

"And maybe I don't want your charity," I replied.

"Look, it's your choice, but I'm not going to beg. You are in the wrong here and you know it. I'm just giving you the option," she stated harshly.

I narrowed my eyes to mere slits as I took in the absurdity of the situation, where the girl that I had so desperately wronged was standing before me with a reprieve. It was utterly ridiculous, however here she was offering me my old life without any conditions or benefits to herself. For a long moment we stared each other down as a war raged in my subconscious between my pride and my undeniable need to be with my family. I just couldn't bring myself to trust someone who would be so idiotically selfless and I briefly considered why she would do something so stupid.

However, I quickly came to the conclusion that the why's didn't particularly matter at the moment, especially acknowledging the fact that every second that ticked by had the potential of death to us all. I could not imagine that Aro and Caius had taken the news of our departure as well as Marcus and here we were standing on an airfield wasting valuable time.

Finally I broke the heavy silence, "we should probably leave. Wasn't it you that just said that we are short on time."

"Yes," she replied in a flat voice, "I believe I did," before spinning around and disappearing from view.

So, I stiffly got out of the car and made my way to the plane, comprehending that the girl had by no means forgiven me, only _pitied_ my situation. My entire being rebelled against the very word, however this was the one instance where I would just have to shallow my wounded pride, in order to achieve my desired end.

**I will try to get the next update out before the end of next week, however this story is coming to an end. **

**Reviews are always appreciated.**


End file.
